Heroes and Villains: The Earlier Chapters
by katos
Summary: This story is set in the Heroes and Villains storybook that Isaac wrote during Operation Mongoose 1 and 2. It focuses on the bandit Regina and Robin Hood's stories in the fictional book and how it felt for them to once again be forcibly separated. Several of your other favorite characters show up as their alternative book selves as well.
1. A Bandit to Save

**AN:** This story is set in the _Heroes and Villains_ storybook that Isaac wrote during _Operation Mongoose 1 and 2_. It focuses on the bandit Regina and Robin Hood's stories in the fictional book and how it felt for them to once again be forcibly separated. Several of your other favorite characters show up as their alternative book selves as well (spoiler: the full moon rises during chapter one). It's a wild ride! I adore these characters and did my best to stay true to them while exploring them in this slightly darker book. I would love to know what you think! Please read and review. Enjoy, fellow Oncer!

 _ **Heroes and Villains**_

 **Earlier Chapters**

 **Chapter One**

 **A Bandit to Save**

 **Robin**

"I have to hand it to you, Will, you truly have a knack for finding the most reprehensible establishments in the kingdoms," Robin said, pushing back the hood of the roughspun brown cloak he was wearing to conceal his more recognizable green leather doublet, and examining the wooden sign hanging over the entrance of the pub that clearly displayed a cooked pig with an apple in its mouth. The faded plank beneath it that was swinging by one rusted chain bore the words "The Blind Sow." A girl barely out of her teens with a garishly painted face was leaning on the wall beside the door. She spit out a hank of chewing tobacco, before smiling suggestively, revealing several missing teeth, as she trailed her fingers down between the cleavage that was barely contained by the rag of a dress that she was wearing. Robin cleared his throat a little awkwardly as she unashamedly looked him up and down.

"You're a tall fella, ain't ya?," She took a step towards him grabbing his belt, "I like 'em tall, I reckon you'd like me plenty, as well. Whatdaya say we ditch your friend here and I take you into the alley and you tell me exactly how you want it?"

"What do you say, you take this," Robin said, pressing a gold coin, fresh from a recent robbery of a royal carriage, into her palm. It was easily more money that she would earn in a month in an alley on her knees, "And take the rest of the night off?"

"The fuck is this?" she asked, immediately taking the coin between two fingers and looking at it warily as though it had offended her, "Is this fake? Are you having me on?" she demanded, before placing the coin between her remaining teeth and biting it, seeing that her teeth left a clear impression in the soft metal. She stared at him in shock before catching a glimpse of the green leather beneath his cape and noticing the royal seal on the coin. Suddenly, her eyes widened with understanding, "You're him! You're bloody Rob..."

"Yes, yes," Will interrupted, "you'll have to forgive my friend here. Already had too much to drink," then much more quietly, "Now run along and keep your mouth shut about it or I'll have that coin back."

The girl still looked a bit awestruck but she nodded, tucking the coin into her cleavage before hurrying off down the road. She paused a few paces away and glanced back over her shoulder, before continuing on her way. It was impossible not to notice that now even beneath the grime and the horrible make-up her face glowed with something else, something that looked very much like hope.

"Why did you have to go and do that?" Will scolded, as they made their way into the crowded Blind Sow, which Robin quickly realized upon entering and seeing that all of the servers were barely clad women was in fact not a pub but a brothel.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"I mean," Will said in a hushed voice as they slid onto two rickety stools beside a small table with a good view of the door, "we are in the capital in disguise to get information and you go giving handouts to girls like that who have never had a man do anything decent for them in their lives and you are going to be the talk of the town by morning. You've got to be more careful, mate."

"Giving to those in need is exactly why we do what we do and I don't think I've ever seen anyone in quite as much need as that girl. If that buys her a couple nights of getting to sleep on her own or perhaps a fresh start than it's worth the risk. Besides we will be long gone by morning," Robin said, before conceding, "but you are right, I should have been more careful. I'm sorry, my friend."

"It's all right, I should've known better than to bring the prince of the bleeding hearts to a brothel in this part of town."

"Yeah, what the hell are we doing in this place?"

"Not up for a little company then," Will teased before adding more seriously, "my contact picked the place and believe me you're going to want to hear what she has to say. She said she has a lead on your favorite bandit."

"Regina?" Robin questioned, suddenly feeling that the trip to the capital might not have been a waste after all.

"Actually, the name's Ella," an unfamiliar female voice answered from over Will's shoulder. She was a petite blonde, with a slightly upturned nose and bright blue eyes. Despite the fact that she was wearing her bodice half open and her cheeks smeared with rogue like all of the other girls in The Blind Sow, there was something unmistakably different about her. Her big blue eyes seemed to hold a spark of mischief that hadn't been completely extinguished and it offered a marked contrast between her and the other workers and patrons of The Blind Sow, "Now how much for an hour with this exotic beauty or is he already booked for the rest of the evening?" she asked, winking at Robin as she wrapped her soft pale arms around Will's neck, sliding one of her hands inside his shirt and twisting his nipple.

"Oy, watch it there handsy, you gotta pay for that kinda thing in here," Will said with a laugh, before pulling her into his lap and allowing her to give him a slightly sloppy opened mouth kiss.

While still on Will's lap she reached across the upended barrel serving as the table between them and grabbed the back of Robin's neck, leaning forward so she could whisper in his ear, "I'm going to kiss you and then ask you to join us. You need to hand me some coins and then follow us to the back room. Look enthusiastic and hurry there isn't much time." With that she leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth before adding in a much louder voice, "Now, love, don't get jealous there's plenty of me to go around...for the right price of course."

Robin did as she had bid him placing several silver coins in her hand and wrapping an arm around her waist as she grabbed Will's hand and pulled them towards a back room. The instant they were inside, she shoved a chair under the door knob and turned to face them.

"So this is him then," she asked Will, crossing her arms over her chest and eyeing Robin critically, "this is the legendary Robin Hood?"

"It is," Will answered, "and he may not look like much, but I promise he lives up to his reputation."

"Let's hope so, for Regina's sake at least," Ella said, putting her hands on her hips, fully adopting an air of command and seeming completely unbothered by the fact that both men towered over her or that she was barely clothed. Robin found himself already respecting this woman for her confidence. "She's planning to rob a carriage tonight transporting a chest of freshly minted coins bound for the palace."

"We haven't heard anything about this shipment," Robin said, a little surprised that his sources within the palace had missed such a valuable piece of information.

"That's because it's a lie," Ella said, raising an eyebrow at him, "the carriage Regina will rob tonight will be empty, the entire thing is a trap laid by the Queen. She took the heart of one of Regina's favorite sources and had him feed her this story. As soon as she robs the carriage she's going to be surrounded by an entire company of The Black Guard."

"When is this happening?" Robin asked. One thief, no matter how skilled could never hope to escape an entire company of Snow White's most feared guards.

"The carriage is set to reach the crossroads of west gate and the king's road at midnight. It will happen then. Which I would say gives you two a little more than two hours to do something if you want to stop your competition's heart from ending up in the Queen's hands," Ella said, as she crossed to the only window in the room and started to fiddle with the latch.

"How do you know all this?"

"Because when I'm not spending my nights at this fair establishment I work in the palace tending the fires. I've tended the fire in Snow White's bedroom for the past year," she answered with a shrug after she succeeded in opening the window.

"What? Then why help us? How can we possibly trust you?" Robin demanded, grabbing her by the arm. She smoothly produced a knife seemingly from nowhere and pressed the blade against his throat.

"I could slit your throat right now," she snarled, pressing the blade against his throat, "Maybe even bring your head to Snow White to mount in her trophy room. Earn myself a bit of a promotion. I bet she would appreciate adding The Thief's head to her collection."

"Oy, now there's no need for that. We all want the same things," Will said conciliatorily.

"Will's right," Ella conceded, "I serve the Queen because she is a tyrant and the only way to bring down a tyrant is from inside their own house. I hate her with every fiber of my being and will never stop fighting to end her rule. Regina is one of the only people in this whole fucked up country that has the balls to fight back and say that what Snow White is doing is wrong...I care what happens to her because intentionally or not she ended the life of James, the only person worse than the Queen and the murderer who killed my father, and for that Regina will always have my loyalty. As to trusting me, that is entirely up to you," she jerked a thumb of the hand that wasn't holding the blade against Robin's throat towards Will, "this one does and I imagine that's good enough for you."

"It is," Robin said, "and we are grateful for your help. Will you allow me to give you a bit of advice in return?"

"What's that?" Ella asked raising an eyebrow at him curiously.

Robin unexpectedly took a step back away from her and ducked down and to the left. He caught hold of the wrist of the hand that was holding the knife in one motion and twisted that arm behind her back.

"Always make sure your opponent can't retreat before holding a blade against their throat," Robin said, his voice free of malice as he released his hold on her arm.

Ella let out an impressed little laugh, "I'll have to remember that one. Now we should all get out of here. I have a queen to serve and you have a bandit to save." She reached through the open window and fished around for a moment, "And if you are going to do that you will need this."

"A bundle of red cloth?" Will questioned, looking at the wad of faded red brocade she had produced from the outside window sill.

"An enchanted traveling cloak," Ella explained, shaking it out to reveal the hood, "that I risked my life to steal from the Queen, I'll have you know."

"What is this cloak enchanted to do exactly?" Robin questioned.

"The company of Black Guard Snow White sent after Regina isn't led by just any knight."

 **Regina**

"Shh, steady, boy," Regina said, quietly to her horse, soothingly stroking his neck as they waited in the shadows of the trees a few yards from the edge of the West Gate Road. As horses went, Zancas, was nothing special to look at. He was a small sorrel gelding that had been a gift to her from the miller and his wife that she had lived with for a few years as a girl. The older couple had been killed one night during a battle towards the end of The Last Ogre Wars. Regina and Zancas had been the only survivors of the attack. He had been with her ever since. He was fast and loyal and the only remnant that she had of anything even resembling a home. She couldn't blame him for being antsy tonight though, something about the air around them felt wrong and Regina found herself jumping at each noise.

Twice already she had considered simply abandoning this job and waiting for another score, but she knew that she was already living on borrowed time and if she didn't find a way to buy passage out of the kingdom soon then her head was going to join the other unseeing faces that lined the walls in the Queen's trophy room. At this thought a shiver crept up her spine and Regina firmly resolved that that would not be the way her life ended. She would continue to what she had been doing all of her life, fighting to survive.

The familiar taste of loneliness settled on the back of her tongue and she was forced to confront the question of whether survival really even held that much of an appeal to her anymore. She had been doing it for so long because it was all she knew how to do. Everyone around her died or left her behind, but she always picked herself back up, never questioning whether or not she actually wanted to keep going.

For the first time tonight as the full moon showed glimpses of its face between the interlaced fingers of the clouds, Regina finally realized just how tired she truly was. She was exhausted of the running, tired of always fighting an enemy that was better equipped than her in every way. She was sick of apologizing for a mistake she had made years ago and already paid for a thousand times over. She was exhausted of forever feeling like a hunted fox, darting in and out of the undergrowth, never allowed to rest, never allowed to feel settled. She was sick to death of Robin Hood and his band of misfits forever stripping royal carriages just before she got to them, keeping her trapped within this kingdom. But the thing that weighed heaviest on her heart was the feeling she got each and every time she walked through the familiar opening into the hollow tree that was her home. Each time coming back to realize that she had fought so hard and survived yet again for nothing and no one.

She longed desperately for companionship, for it to matter to another person whether or not she made it home at the end of the night. Regina shook her head against this train of thought, knowing that their was no way that she could risk bringing someone else into her life right now. Not when Snow White wanted her dead and had threatened anyone who associated with her. Even people who had just been foolish enough to speak out in her defense had suffered horrible deaths at the Queen's hands. Regina could only imagine the kind of fate that would befall someone that Snow discovered she actually cared about.

"Guess it's just you and me, friend," Regina whispered quietly to Zancas, pulling him back further into the shadows as she heard the sound of carriage wheels coming down the road. She glanced up at the rope that she had climbed up and tied between two trees across the road. She had estimated that it should be right at the height of the carriage driver and hoped that it would hold.

The ground started to vibrate slightly with the pounding of the carriage team's hooves as they approached her hiding spot and Regina tensed ready to ride hard and fast after the carriage once the driver fell off. There was a satisfying cry and a twang as the rope did its work and caught the driver around the middle sending him flying off of the back of the carriage. Regina put her heels hard in Zancas' sides and rode after the carriage team until they started to slow and she was able to lean over and catch hold of the reins.

"Whoa," she urged as she pulled them to a stop, before quickly dismounting and running to the carriage door. She used the dagger she wore at her waist to jimmy open the lock and smiled to herself when it clicked open. She tossed the lock into the dirt and swung the door open, reaching into the carriage preparing to start the process of picking open the lock on the chest of coins.

"What the hell?" Regina hissed to herself when she saw that the carriage was empty. It took a moment for the icy fist of fear to twist itself around her stomach as she realized the only explanation for the empty carriage. This was a trap.

She reached for one of the arrows that she wore on her back and hurried to free the bow that was strung across her chest. As she spun around she turned right into one of Queen's Black Guard and he smashed her below the eye with the heel of his sword with enough force to knock her backwards against the carriage. The blow dazed her and she lost her grip on the arrow in her hand, but she saw her dagger lying on the floor of the carriage and grabbed it, knowing she was only going to get one shot and she had to make this blow count.

"I've got her," the knight called to his companions, reaching forward to grab her by the collar of her vest.

Regina waited until he leaned in close and then buried the dagger in the space just above his collar bone. She had tangled with enough of the black knights to know that their armor gapped between their gorget and breast plate. It wouldn't kill the knight, but it would definitely leave him in a world of hurt.

He let out a howl of pain and shoved her to the ground as he scrabbled at the dagger poking out above his armor.

"You stupid bitch," he yelled, and went to kick her in the stomach, but she anticipated him and kicked out hard at his knee causing him to scream again and collapse in a heap on the ground.

"Careful, what does that say about you?" Regina spat at him.

"Enough!" Another more forceful female voice commanded and suddenly Regina felt the cold tip of a sword against her throat and looked up to see that she surrounded by a company of at least ten Black Knights and two of the Queen's feared dwarves both wielding their axes, one of which was holding the reigns of her horse.

"Stop struggling or I will gut you and feast on your bones right here, " The knight who was clearly in command said again, before taking off her helmet and revealing a mane of dark brown hair falling around a deceptively sweet looking, pretty face. Regina immediately recognized her as the younger of the two werewolves that both served Snow White. Regina blinked her eyes against the memory of a time that she had seen this young woman transform and eat every member of family that had been foolish enough to offer her shelter for the night. "Your call, Regina, you know what I can do and the night is young. I would love the chance to conclude our business early and still have time to hunt."

"We both know that the Queen would be furious if you ate me and robbed her the pleasure of killing me herself," Regina said boldly, willing her voice not to shake.

"You know, I actually asked my queen this very question the other day and she said that I was welcome to whatever parts of you I wanted as long as I brought her your heart," The werewolf snarled, licking her lips, before looking up at one of the dwarves and one of the knights standing in the circle behind Regina, "Get her on her feet and hold her; the Queen wants her to see something."

They each seized one of her arms and pulled Regina roughly to her feet.

"Tie the beast over there," The werewolf girl commanded, motioning towards a tree at the edge of the road, a few yards from where they were all standing. The dwarf holding Zancas' reins accepted a length of rope from one of the knights and secured it around the horse's neck before attempting to lead him through the center of the circle of knights.

The wind shifted and Zancas caught one hint of the werewolf's scent and immediately started to rear and paw and the air attempting to break free.

 _Good boy, get the hell out of here_ , Regina thought, hoping that he might be able to break away and make a run for it, but the hope died in her chest as several of the other knights helped the dwarf subdue him. They eventually succeeded in tethering Zancas' lead securely to the tree.

Regina thought it was odd that they would take such pains to secure her horse. It wasn't as though she were going to be able to make a break for it with this many of them surrounding her and even if she did she could just as easily steal one of their horses to ride away on.

"Grumpy, hold her tight and make sure she can't look away. I don't want her to miss a minute."

"Yes, Commander Ruby," the dwarf holding one of Regina's arms answered. He twisted the arm he was holding behind her back and grabbed a fistful of her braid, pulling on it so hard that she let out an involuntary gasp of pain.

Ruby stalked towards them, leaning in close so that her nose was almost touching Regina's, her wide mouth spreading into a wolfish grin before saying, "You know you've kept up a pretty brave front, but can I let you in on a little secret? We really can smell fear and you positively reek of it," as she spoke Regina could smell blood on her breath, "Now, we've reached the object lesson portion of our evening. Snow asked me to show you exactly how it feels to watch something you love die...and she happened to mention that you've had this horse ever since she's known you..."

"No," Regina breathed out as everything suddenly made sense.

"I have to say that I never get sick of that look in someone's eyes when it all finally clicks and they understand what's about to happen," Ruby said, rolling her shoulders before turning her back to Regina and starting to walk away from her. Regina instinctively struggled against the men that were holding her.

"You don't have to do this!" she called after Ruby, "please, he's innocent!"

"Nothing's innocent. And Snow said you'd beg," the girl said, with one last cruel glance over her shoulder, her eyes flashing gold as she transformed into the monster she truly was.

 **Robin**

A bone chilling scream cut through the night air, so raw and filled with pain that Robin felt it in his chest like a knife. It was followed by the incongruous sound of a horse naying in panic and wet snarling chomping sounds.

"We're too late," Robin whispered, a feeling of panic rising in his chest. He imagined it was probably strange to feel so invested in the welfare of someone that he had never actually met, but he had long admired Regina's skills and he had felt a kinship to her ever since he had first heard of her exploits. Everything about the idea of her pulling jobs completely on her own reminded him of his early days as a thief before he had established his code or formed the band that had become his family. The moment he had started to consider retiring from leading The Merry Men, he had known that she was the only person that he would trust to take over the job. But in this moment the fear he felt tensing around his heart did not feel like simple concern for a colleague or a rival.

"Stop! Please, Stop!" A distinctly female voice, rough with pain, carried from a few hundred yards up the road.

"Sounds like your girl's still alive, at least for now," Will said. He had the red cloak that Ella had given them rolled up underneath his arm and his bow already in his hands, "you go see to her. I'll draw out this wolf."

"Will..." Robin started to say, torn between a desperate desire to stop whatever was happening on the road and concern over his young friend tangling with a werewolf. There was also the tiniest part of him that felt a little swell of guilt at Will referring to Regina as "his girl" when he had a fiance waiting for him at home, but Robin recognized that this was a ridiculous thought to have at such a moment.

"No time to argue, Robin."

The screaming came again along with the sickening chomping noises and they made Robin's decision for him. He had seen the Black Knight's handiwork first hand on several occasions and knew just how savage they could be.

"Right, meet back at camp at dawn. Whistle the signal if you need help," Robin commanded, already nocking an arrow.

"Ay ay, boss," Will said, with his characteristic lopsided grin, before sparking a flint against a wool wrapped arrow and standing to fire it at dead tree they had coated with pitch a few yards behind them.

The instant the arrow touched the pitch, the tree exploded into flames just as they had planned. It illuminated the road, rendering everyone on it temporarily night blind and casting the entire tableaux in a dizzying mix of reds and oranges. Robin choked down the bile that rose in his throat as he saw an enormous wolf feasting on the innards of a small horse that was tied to a tree.

He saw one knight and a dwarf holding a struggling woman between them. Her face was streaked with tears and one of her eyes had a deep purple bruise swelling beneath it. She fit every description he had ever heard of the Bandit Regina and Robin had the odd feeling of surreality that always accompanied seeing something or someone that you have heard described so many times. He felt his heart ache in his chest at the pain so clearly written on her undeniably beautiful face and everything in him wanted to do whatever it took to make her never make that expression ever again.

He saw Will run out into the open across the road and immediately started to make his way through the underbrush in the opposite direction getting closer and closer to the circle of knights. The wolf let out a snarl and bounded in the direction that Will had run, effectively knocking down a couple of its own company as it went. Robin said a silent prayer for his clever young friend and then focused on creating enough chaos for Regina to escape with her heart still beating in her chest.

 **Regina**

"She's not alone..." the knight holding Regina's arm started to yell to his companions, but his words suddenly died in his throat. She looked up as she felt his grip loosen on her arm and saw that there was an arrow sticking out of his eye just below the lip of his helmet. Even through the tears that threatened to blind her, Regina recognized what an amazing shot that was. Her brain was so beleaguered with too many emotions and more questions than she could ever hope to answer that she felt herself instinctively just switch completely into survival mode as chaos exploded around her.

"What the fuck is going on?" Grumpy snarled, as another of the knights fell to his knees, clutching at an arrow protruding from under his arm. The dwarf let go of his grip on her hair in his attempt to get a better look at whoever was attacking him and his men. As he leaned around her he leaned forward slightly and Regina could finally move her arm without risking him snapping it in two. Regina stomped down hard on the arch of the dwarf's foot and threw her body weight forward, pulling him with her as she fell to the ground. She quickly rolled to the side to avoid getting trapped beneath him and grabbed the axe that he wore strapped across his back. It was a heavier weapon than she would have chosen in such a close combat situation, but it was the only thing within easy reach and she resolved to make the best of it.

"Bold choice, sister," the dwarf spat at her, closing his big meaty hand around her ankle and starting to drag her back towards him, "no one has ever touched my axe handle and survived. I think I'm gonna enjoy splitting your pretty little..."

"Shut up!" Regina snapped, using every ounce of her strength to swing the axe against the side of his head. There was a resounding clang as the metal of the blade connected with the metal of the helmet he was wearing and he collapsed against the ground. She had no idea whether a dwarf could be killed with their own axe and she did not intend on sticking around to find out. She pulled herself into a crouched position and scanned the scene around her quickly.

There was a dead knight a few feet from her with a bow still in his hands. Regina quickly made her way to him and stripped him of his bow and quiver and nocked an arrow. She glanced around, trying to see where the knights had tethered their horses and spotted them about ten yards down the road. Regina circled back towards the wagon using it for cover as she attempted to make a break towards the horses. One of the men realized what she was doing and made to follow her but she quickly dropped him by firing two arrows in quick succession into his chest, feeling a little thrill of relief at having a weapon back in her hands that suited her skills.

She stopped to catch her breath behind the wagon and through the dizzying light of the flames from the burning tree she saw a man she didn't recognize dressed in a roughspun brown cloak and green leather doublet. He was locked in a furious sword fight with two of the Black Knights. Regina paused for a moment trying to make sense of who on earth this stranger might be and why he had intervened on her behalf. Through the shifting shadows she could not get a clear look at his face, but something about him felt strangely familiar. She caught a glimpse of a tattoo on the inside of his right wrist, it appeared to be some sort of black shield or crest. He was clearly not nearly as skilled with a sword as he apparently was with a bow and was being badly out fought. Regina felt fear tighten in her stomach as he just barely managed to get his sword in front of his chest and block a blow from one of his opponents, but not before the sword sliced into right shoulder. The other knight approached while the man was distracted, preparing to drive his sword through the her rescuer's currently unprotected left side.

"Hey," Regina called, stepping from her hiding spot and firing an arrow at the knight's throat as soon as he looked up. This action bought whomever her rescuer was enough time to drop to one knee and drive his sword into the chest of the Black Knight who had cut him. It also caused the remaining three knights to immediately discover where she was hiding. Without giving herself another moment to think Regina made a mad dash towards the horses.

She managed to catch hold of one of the saddles and started to pull herself up, just as she felt a searing pain as black arrow tore across the skin of her outer thigh. She forced herself to continue to swing herself up into the saddle despite the pain, knowing if she let go or fell off she was doomed. Regina gripped the reins firmly in her hands and kicked as hard as she could manage against the great black beast's sides, tearing off down the road. As she rode she said a silent prayer to whoever would listen for the safety of the stranger who had just risked everything to save her life and she was now leaving bleeding on the road.


	2. Burning in the Blood

**Chapter 2**

 **Burning in the Blood**

 **Robin**

"We're closed..." The grey haired woman behind the bar started to say before her eyes lit up with recognition and concern at seeing the two men standing in the doorway of her inn, "Will, Robin...what's happened to him?" she asked dropping her rag and immediately crossing to help Will as he supported Robin with an arm beneath his shoulders.

"Got a nasty cut from a Black Guard's poisoned blade," Will explained, as he settled Robin on top of one of the long wooden tables near the fire, "Gwen, are Tuck and the others downstairs?"

"Yes, I'll get them..."

Even through the haze of fever and pain, Robin reached out catching hold of her wrist, "Gwen, don't wake all of them...Just the Friar and Zelena...I don't want to scare the others. Don't tell them not...'til we know more."

She nodded and then hurried off down the stairs to the rooms beneath the inn on the edge of Sherwood Forest that had served as home base to Merry Men for the past several weeks. Gwen and her family had owned this small inn and pub for years and had long been supporters of the Robin and his Merry Men. Whenever they needed it, they knew that they could always count on her for a roof over their heads and any food that she could spare.

Robin felt the strange disconnected feeling that he had been plaguing him ever since the blade had bit into his skin. He had seen people die from the poison of the Black Knights' blades and arrows before. It was a particularly cruel and dishonorable trick to coat their weapons with a poison that burned through the blood of their opponents so that even if they lost the fight their enemies rarely survived. He thought of hearing Regina call out to the knight that he was fighting just as he had been certain that the fight was lost. He had gone to such lengths to save her and ultimately she had risked her neck for him, for no reason at all. He suddenly remembered seeing her stumble as she had jumped onto the back of the horse.

"Regina..." he demanded, his voice coming out slightly slurred, his tongue feeling somehow too big for his mouth, "Did she?"

"She made it, mate," Will said soothingly, "by the time I pulled you out of there she was long gone. You gave her a fighting chance."

Robin smiled wearily at this, "How did you fare against the wolf?"

"Still in one piece, ain't I?" Will answered with a cheeky grin, "Once I got that cloak on her, she wasn't so bad..."

Robin let out a groan as fresh pain shot through his arm and it felt as though his flesh was burning up from the inside. He screwed his eyes tight against the pain, willing himself to breathe as the spasm passed. When he opened his eyes again he saw that his young friend's face was a mask of fear. Everything about the younger man's big brown eyes and ears that stuck out a bit too far from the side of his head gave him a boyish look. He could feel Will's hands both closed tightly around his.

"Will, I'm going to be fine," Robin reassured his friend, "Tuck will set me right, he always has before,"

Will nodded, his expression betraying the fact that he was far from convinced.

Just then, almost as if summoned by Robin's words, Friar Tuck made his way laboriously up the stairs with Zelena impatiently following behind him. As soon as they reached the top she pushed past the Friar and crossed to Robin's side, putting a thin pale hand on his cheek.

"He's burning up," she said, anxiously, "What's wrong with him? What kind of mess did you get him into this time?" she demanded, looking at Will, her green eyes narrowing dangerously. Despite her feelings for Robin she had never exactly warmed to the younger thief that was his near constant companion.

"Will didn't..." Robin started to explain, but his words dissolved into a groan.

"One of the Black Knights cut him with one of their poisoned swords," Will explained, looking at Friar Tuck rather than Zelena.

"Why was he fighting a Black Knight? Were you trying to get him killed? We're to be married in less than a month."

Tuck immediately ripped open Robin's sleeve with practiced fingers and examined the wound. Robin glanced over at the wound and could see tiny fingers of red making their way under the skin towards his heart.

"He's not going to be marrying anyone if we don't work quickly," Tuck said, "This is the Queen's poison all right, nasty stuff, but it can be treated. Will, go get my kit from downstairs. We need to give him the antidote and then get heat on this wound immediately. Zelena, put wine in that kettle and start it boiling. He'll have a high fever but if he can survive the night then he should make it," Tuck commanded and they both hurried to do as he bid them.

Will returned with the odd wooden box with a leather strap that held all of the friar's remedies and potions. He opened it and set it at Tuck's elbow. Tuck quickly found the right vial and opened it and tipped its contents down the back of Robin's throat.

Robin coughed violently and tried to sit up as the potion scraped against the back of his throat. Will put a hand on his uninjured shoulder, urging him back down against the table.

"Bloody hell, what was that..." he coughed.

"Sorry, I know it's unpleasant, but it will keep you alive," Tuck explained.

"If you say so," Robin said skeptically, feeling himself start to shiver violently.

"Zelena, how are you coming with that wine? If we can burn it out before it reaches his heart..."

"It's ready," she said, hurrying over with the kettle.

"I'll pour it," Tuck volunteered, "you take his hand."

Zelena nodded, her almost transparent eyes steely with determination. Robin always appreciated that she was never weepy during situations like this. She tended to attack every problem with the same intense focus and something about that was very calming.

She took his hand firmly in hers, "Robin, look at me darling," she instructed, running her other fingers through the sweaty hair at his temple. A fresh wave of unbearable heat flooded from his shoulder through the rest of his body and reality seemed to melt and blur like a waxy puddle slowly smothering a wick.

"Is she safe?" Robin asked frantically, "they're gonna kill her!"

"Her, who, darling?" Zelena asked, looking completely confused and frightened by the lost unfocused look in his eyes.

"Regina...her heart...the queen will..." Robin tried to explain, before letting out a grunt of pain.

"We have to do this now. Will, hold him down," Tuck instructed and Will obeyed. He gripped Robin's shoulders, pinning him flat against the table as the friar poured the scalding liquid over the wound. Robin heard himself scream as the burning liquid touched the raw skin of his wound and then he suddenly had the feeling of the table dropping out from underneath him and he was falling into the darkness.

 **Regina**

Regina stumbled slightly and let out a gasp as a fresh wave of searing pain flooded through her. She had little memory of how she had made it back to her hollow tree. The ride and the clumsy walk that had followed had passed in a blur of growing fever, but somehow she had made it home. She collapsed onto the roughly hewn stool beside her little table and took a deep breath before ripping the pant leg the rest of the way open. Some of the blood had dried and glued the fabric to the wound and the process caused fresh tears to well up in her eyes. She grabbed the flagon of water from the table and poured it over the wound so that she could better survey the damage.

"Shit, shit, shit..." she muttered to herself as she saw the tell tale red lines spreading underneath her skin away from the wound. She had seen numerous people die of Snow White's signature poison and it was a horrific sight, their limbs twisting back on themselves as all of the moisture slowly boiled from their bodies, remaining alive until the last moment when the poison reached their heart. Regina suddenly understood why she felt as though she were steadily being cooked alive from inside her flesh.

A wave of pain flooded through her and suddenly she was blind to the world around her. All she could see was the wolf with blood dripping between its fangs as Zancas stumbled forward to his knees, eyes wide with terror. Regina blinked hard against the image and the room around her came back into focus. She knew she was going to have to act quickly or she would lose herself inside the world of fire and pain that was trying to consume her.

She needed to get the antidote that the blind witch had given her. Regina used the table to get the leverage she needed to hop onto her uninjured leg and grab the small wooden box that held her few treasures off of the shelf she had carved into the wall of the hollow tree. She had encountered the sorceress years ago, in the dungeons of the Princess Aurora's castle. Regina had been captured trying to buy passage out of the kingdoms on the docks and the princess had thrown her in the dungeons to await transport and certain death at Snow White's castle.

While in the dungeons, she had been thrown into a cell with a tall, bedraggled blonde woman who at first Regina had barely recognized as human. The woman had deep red scars where her eyes should be and sniffed the air with an odd animal like curiosity.

"You're not from this kingdom are you?" the woman had asked in an oddly girlish voice.

"No," Regina answered already starting to feel around and see if there were a way to climb to the small window set high in the rock wall.

"There's no way out," the woman said resignedly, the chains around her wrists rattling as she took a step towards her, pushing tangled blond curls out of her face.

"No offense, but maybe there is, maybe you just can't see it."

"Well, straight to a blind joke, you're a tacky little bitch aren't you?" the woman said with a laugh.

"Sorry..." Regina said, feeling a little twist of shame, "I just...I was so close to finally getting out of here and going someplace I could really be free, but it didn't work...nothing I do ever seems to."

"What's your name, honey?"

"Regina. What's yours?"

"Maleficent."

"Wait... the Maleficent? The dragon?" Regina said, feeling a swell of hope as she reached forward and grabbed one of Maleficent's hands, "this is wonderful. You can get us out of here."

"No, I can't."

"Why not? I thought dragons could fly. So just turn into a dragon, bust through this wall and we'll fly out of here."

Maleficent let out a long laugh a this, "God, I had actually forgotten what hope sounded like. Don't worry, that will die quick enough down in this hell hole."

"I don't understand. You're so powerful. Why would you stay here?"

"Aurora did her work well on me."

"What do you mean?" Regina said, sitting down on a rock and listening intently.

"Her mother has always been threatened by my power and succeeded in turning the whole kingdom against me and people like me. Her soldiers actually slaughtered so many of us that I'm not sure there are any others left now. Well, one day I finally had an opportunity and I roasted the hateful bitch alive and I ate her whole. Her daughter vowed to pay me back for what I had done and as revenge she and her horrid prince stole my child from me when she was still in her egg."

"That's awful..."

"Thank you, dear. I found out that they had sent the egg to Snow White for her to raise my child to be one of her knights..."

"Wait, Snow has a dragon working for her?" Regina said, with an audible groan then mumbled to herself, "I guess I can just add roasted and eaten alive to the long list of ways she'll kill me."

"The Queen hates you that much?"

"She does...but, we weren't talking about me. Tell me more about this other dragon."

Maleficent nodded, "My daughter, she's a few years younger than you. I never got to give her a proper name, but Aurora tells me that they call her Lily."

"Why would she tell you this if she hates you so much?"

"Because she is much cleverer and crueller than her mother," Maleficent answered and she automatically ran a hand over the scarred flesh that was stretched over where her eyes should have been, "Aurora, she understood that killing me after taking away my daughter would have been a mercy, so instead she chained me down here and had me blinded. The last thing that horrible princess said to me before leaving me down here to rot was that her mother always told me that there was no joy in this life as pure as seeing happiness on her daughter's face and she wanted to make sure that that was a joy that I would never know."

It was such a sick, twisted story that Regina found herself momentarily unable to form a response. Even with all of the cruelty and evil she had witnessed in her life, it was difficult for Regina to wrap her head around someone doing something so calculated for no other reason than revenge. She was struck by the depth of pain in Maleficent's voice as she talked about never being able to see her daughter's face. Regina couldn't help but think of her own mother and how casually she had thrown her away. She had left her in a basket in a ditch along the road as though she were a pile of rubbish. Had it not been for some tender hearted farmer's wife who had noticed her there, that ditch would likely have been her grave.

Regina suddenly felt a stir of fury at the injustice of someone separating a mother from her daughter when she so desperately wanted to be with her. She no longer just wanted to escape this hell hole to avoid whatever torment and torture the Queen had in store for her, now she felt that she had to help reunite this poor dragon with her stolen daughter.

"And you just accepted that." Regina demanded, getting to her feet and rounding on Maleficent.

"What other choice did I have? Aurora took my eyes!"

"Yes, she did and that's awful, but that doesn't mean that she's won. You may never be able to see your daughter, but you are both still alive. If you love her then you can't give up! You have to fight for her! You couldn't save her when she was a baby, but you can now! Don't let Snow White turn her into a monster! Don't let her grow up thinking you didn't want her! Nothing...nothing hurts like that," Regina begged, feeling tears sting her eyes as she begged this stranger to do what her mother never would. Maleficent reached forward somewhat awkwardly and rested a hand on Regina's cheek.

"Isn't Lily worth fighting for?" Regina asked quietly.

"Yes," Maleficent answered, "yes, she is...thank you," with that she cleared her throat and stretched up to her rather impressive full height, "Now, I think I can get us out of here, but not without your help."

And that had been how Regina had ended up escaping from the dungeons beneath Princess Aurora's castle on the back of a blind dragon. They had taken heavy fire from the castle guards as they flew over the walls, but somehow they had managed to escape. Maleficent had flown them to safety before crash landing in a heavily forested area. Regina had been thrown off of the dragon's back and landed hard several yards away, but recovered quickly and ran back to see what had gone wrong. When she did she saw that Maleficent had returned to her human form and was clutching at bloody wound in her stomach. A six foot long spear lay on the ground beside her, its tip red and slick with blood.

"No!" Regina cried, falling to her knees beside her friend and reaching out towards the wound. She pressed against it with her hands, trying to staunch the bleeding.

"Regina...don't...it's no use," Maleficent breathed out, sounding exhausted.

"But...your daughter..."

"Was lost to me years ago...If you ever meet her, tell her I did fight for her. Tell her...tell Lily how much I loved her."

"I will," Regina said, tears filling her eyes as she took Maleficent's hand in both of hers.

"I want you to have something..." Maleficent said, and with a little flourish of her hand she produced a small glass bottle from thin air. She reached down, touching a finger to the bleeding wound in her stomach and allowed a drop of blood from her finger to drip into the contents of the bottle. The contents glowed with a dark red light for an instant then turned black, "The Queen made a poison...her guards coat their weapons with it...if she hates you as much as she seems to- you will need this. It's the only antidote..." her words were cut off as she drew in a deep wet sounding breath.

"You need to rest..."

"No, you need to listen," Maleficent said firmly, "if you are ever poisoned by one of their weapons, drink this and then apply heat to the wound immediately. You have to burn the poison out...do you understand?"

"Yes," Regina said, taking the proffered bottle and tucking it into the pocket of her vest as she saw pink foam start to form on Maleficent's lips and she knew the end was close.

"Thank you..."

"For what, getting you killed?" Regina asked bitterly as tears started to spill down her cheeks.

"For reminding me what flying feels like...and, Regina, I don't know what your mother did but she was wrong not to fight for you...you are worth fighting for." With that Maleficent had let out one last shaking breath and departed the world.


	3. The Road Home

**Chapter 3**

 **The Road Home**

 **Robin**

The fall seemed to last for hours. Robin felt as though he were being dragged down through suffocating blackness. It pressed in on him from all sides and felt as though it were melting his flesh everywhere that it touched him.

He let out a desperate gasp of relief when he finally felt his back connect with a solid surface. His eyes flew open and he tried to sit up, but a firm hand against his shoulder stopped him along with the feeling of something cold and sharp against the side of his neck.

"Make a sound and I jam this arrow into your neck."

Robin laid still for a moment trying to get his brain to catch up to what was happening. He realized that he felt the weight of someone straddling him, effectively pinning him down. He also noticed that rather than the rooms beneath the inn that Will had brought him to earlier in the evening he was now back in his tent in Sherwood Forest and he was alone aside from the stranger currently holding an arrow against his neck.

He looked up into the face of his assailant and recognized it as the beautiful face that he had seen across the road tonight as he tangled with Black Knights, except now it wasn't streaked with tears and the swelling beneath her eye was miraculously gone.

"Regina," he breathed out, liking the way that it felt to have her name on his tongue.

"I told you not to make a sound," she said, slightly increasing the pressure of the arrow point against the side of his neck, "How did you find me tonight? Why did you help me?"

Robin noticed that even in the dim light inside the tent her sharp brown eyes were streaked with copper.

"Answer me," she demanded forcefully.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my lady," Robin answered with a grin, "am I allowed to talk now or will I still get an arrow in the throat...You know if this is about earlier, a simple thank you would suffice."

Her cheeks colored slightly with frustration, "Thank you? Why should I thank you? You've been making my life hell for the past year. Every time I even get close to a score big enough to get me out of this God forsaken kingdom you and your band of jolly gents, or whatever the hell you call yourselves, have always hit them before I can. I should kill you just for being a plague on my life."

"Perhaps you should, but you won't."

"Won't I," Regina questioned, unable to suppress a grin as she arched an eyebrow at him, "And why's that?"

"Oh, I don't know, perhaps because I saved your life tonight," Robin said, before adding more seriously, "that was your horse that they killed, wasn't it?"

She suddenly looked away from him and gave one curt nod.

"I'm sorry," he said, reaching up and brushing one of the strands of dark hair that hung around her face behind her ear. His fingertips just barely touching the skin of her cheek as he did. Robin knew it was a more intimate gesture than he should share with a woman who was not his fiance, but in this moment everyone else in the world felt very far away, the only thing that he was certain of was that it hurt his heart to see her in pain. Robin also noticed as he lifted his arm that his shoulder didn't hurt at all anymore, "I'm sorry we didn't get there soon enough to save him too."

"Why did you save me at all?" Regina asked again, clearing her throat and resuming a more businesslike tone. She was working to keep her face impassive, but Robin noticed she loosened her grip on the arrow allowing it to rest on the ground beside his head.

"We've actually been in the business of keeping you alive for a while."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, looking confused. She seemed to realize that it was strange the she was still straddling him and slid off of his lap, sitting crosslegged beside him. Robin sat up as well, feeling an odd little sense of loss when their bodies were no longer touching. It was such a confusing feeling, but his body and some part of his heart felt as though being close to her was the most natural, familiar thing in the world.

"All of those scores you mentioned that we beat you to," Robin explained, "Part of the reason that we robbed those shipments was to make sure that you didn't get killed doing it."

"Well, thanks for nothing," Regina said with a sneer, "I've made it this long on my own and I do not need anyone looking out for me. The only thing that I need is enough gold to get the hell out of here."

"Something that the Queen knows all too well. You are an amazing thief, Regina, one of the most skilled I've ever seen in fact, but you're getting desperate and that makes you an easy target."

"So you protect me, by lining your own pockets, gee thanks," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"That is not fair and you know it," Robin said with an exasperated sigh, "Not a single cent I've stolen has gone into my own pocket. We've used the money to feed the citizens that Snow White seems hellbent on starving to death and if what you truly want is to keep running for the rest of your life on your own then say the word and I can arrange enough money for you to leave the kingdom tonight."

"What?"

"I mean it. Say the word and you can be on a ship tonight with enough gold to get you to Arendelle within the week. From there you can go where ever you chose..."

"You're serious?"

"Very," Robin replied, "if an escape route is what you truly want then it's yours, but know this, you will never be able to stop. You will have to spend the rest of your days always looking over your shoulder. Always waiting for the day when someone recognizes you and tell the Queen where you are. You'll be alive, but it won't ever be much of a life."

"It's worked for me so far," Regina said, eyeing him skeptically, "I get the feeling that you have another option that you think would be better..."

"As a matter of fact..." Robin said and Regina let out a little laugh, rolling her eyes at him.

"All right let's hear this brilliant plan, that I somehow have not managed to think of even though I've spent every second of the past decade trying to figure out how to keep Snow from mounting my head on her wall or crushing my heart to powder. Go on then, Robin Hood, dazzle me with your legendary smuggling abilities," she said her every syllable soaked in sarcasm.

"First of all, I am a thief not a smuggler," he teased, before adding much more seriously, "My idea is simple. I think you should do the very last thing that the Queen would ever expect you to do. Stay."

"Stay," Regina repeated indignantly, "that's it. Like it's just that easy. You're insane."

"Perhaps, but hear me out. You are one of the only people in this entire country who has ever successfully survived standing up to Snow White. Whether you want to or not you have inspired the people of this country who are sick of living under a tyrant's thumb. The Merry Men have helped do a fair bit of that as well. If you were to join us, we could help the people of this country fight to take back their freedom."

"Wow, crazy and you have a death wish, and here I thought you were just some harmless thief," Regina said letting out a weary sigh and running a hand over her face, "Listen, I am the last person that you want joining your little band. Everyone who has ever tried to help me has ended up dead... You seem like a nice enough man. If you care about any of your people, you need to get as far away from me as you can. Stop trying to help me. Stop talking about fighting Snow White and maybe you and your men have a chance of surviving."

"Regina, I don't want you to join the Merry Men...I want you to help me lead them. I want you to be my partner," Robin said, instinctively reaching forward and somewhat tentatively covering her hand that was resting on the ground near his knee with his own. It was an idea that had been rolling around in his head for months but had never taken solid form until this moment. As he said the words out loud he realized that in his heart he had always hoped not to actually have to retire. He loved his job, he loved his life and for months now he had been trying to avoid confronting the realization that Regina, this woman he hardly knew, was the only person with whom he could actually imagine sharing in it.

"And as to my men's safety, they make their own choices. If they think it is too dangerous they are welcome to leave at any time, but they all know that I intended to offer you a chance to lead and they support it. It is time for this country to change and we...I want you to be a part of that. Aren't you tired of running? Aren't you sick of having to hide all of the time?" He realized how emphatic his voice had become and that he had leaned towards her as he spoke, he forced himself to take a breath and say more calmly, "If you truly want me to just leave you alone, then all you have to do is get up and walk out of this tent and I will never bother you again."

Regina studied his face intently for a long moment, looking slightly overwhelmed by all that he had just offered her.

"All of my life, I've been on my own," she said finally, breaking the silence, looking down at his hand still resting on hers as she spoke, "Every day I have woken up knowing that no matter who I met or what I hoped for the day would end the same as all of the others. You end enough days that way you start to just accept that that is the way things have to be. Maybe some of us are just meant to go through life without anyone else. It's gotten to the point where that is my last thought before I close my eyes each and every day," her voice was rough with emotion as she spoke and Robin suddenly had a very clear image of her returning at the end of every day to an empty camp, forced to build a world that kept everyone at arm's length. The idea made his chest ache with how badly he wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her she would never have to spend another moment like that, but he recognized that it needed to be her choice.

"If you truly believe that, that you're destined to be alone, then why are still here?"

Regina looked up at him. Her face a mask of resolve as though she had settled some sort of war within herself. Without warning she reached forward, rising up on her knees so that she could take his face in both of her hands. Robin instinctively looking up her as she did, thinking that if she were about to kill him there were worse final sights.

"Because today is not one of those days," she breathed out before crushing her mouth against his.

Robin had never had anyone in his entire life kiss him like this. Regina, who had been so guarded only seconds ago, seemed to be kissing him with every fiber of her being. When she pulled away a few seconds later, her expression betrayed that she was clearly almost as surprised as he was by what she had just done.

"I...I don't usually..." she stammered.

"Go around kissing strange men in tents?" Robin supplied with a grin. One of his hands finding a home on the curve of her waist as he reached towards her, his other hand going to the side of neck.

Regina caught him off guard by letting out a genuine laugh at this, her smile making her face even more unbearably lovely. Seemingly without his brain's permission Robin felt himself lean forward to meet her. He kissed her before the laugh had even died on her lips, liking the way it felt when she smiled against his mouth. Her smile faded as he slid his hand into her long dark hair and parted her lips with his own. He felt a swell of relief when Regina turned her head in response, further deepening the kiss. One of her hands clutched the fabric at the front of his tunic as her other hand went insistently to the back of his neck pulling him to her as she opened her mouth for his tongue.

Robin felt his manhood stiffen as she let out a little groan of pleasure at the feeling of his tongue working against hers. He felt his hands itching to untie the laces at the front of the leather and fur vest she was still wearing and further explore her body. Robin forced himself to pull back for an instant and take a breath. A tiny voice in his head that he very much resented at the moment reminding him that he wanted to be sure that this was really what she wanted before things went any further.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked, clearly confused when he leaned a little bit away from her.

"My offer still stands whether we...continue this or not," Robin said gently stroking her cheek with his thumb as he searched the depths of her dark eyes for some hint of what she was feeling. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone else in his life, and risking what he was about to say terrified him, but the idea of not saying it terrified him more. If they were going to start something he wanted it to be because they wanted the same things, "Regina, you owe me nothing."

Rage flickered inside her eyes as she understood his meaning, "Fuck you!" she spat at him, instinctively reaching past him and snatching the arrow up from where she had discarded it earlier, "that is not what this is about."

"I'm sorry, my lady, I meant no offense," Robin said, scrambling to catch hold of her wrist as she raised the arrow as though she meant to drive it into his chest.

"Stop calling me that," Regina snapped, "And how is saying you think I'm a whore not supposed to offend me?"

"That was not...will you let me explain?" Robin asked.

After a moment of considering him through narrowed eyes, Regina nodded.

"All that I meant was to say...rather clumsily, is that you shall have my protection and my loyalty for the rest of my days. However long that might be..." He eyed the arrow and noticed that edge of her mouth twitched as though she were trying not to grin at this, "I just wanted you to know that I don't expect anything from you. I meant what I said about wanting you to be my partner, I just wanted you to know that this...doesn't have to be a part of that unless you want it to be."

She looked unsure how to feel about what he had just said. "So you don't want to do this?"

"Are you joking? I have never wanted to be with anyone so badly in my entire life," Robin answered passionately.

"Good," Regina said before springing forward and pinning him down flat on his back, "I really didn't want to have to kill you."

This time it was Robin's turn to laugh, feeling a flood of relief as she leaned down, kissing him again. Regina kissed him much more slowly this time as she reached down and unfastened the belt that cinched her vest at the waist. She was straddling him again and leaned forward over him, but seemed to be intentionally keeping her body hovering just over his, so close that he could feel the warmth from her skin, but never quite touching him. The sensation was maddening and Robin reached up, catching hold of the leather ties that held the front of her vest closed. Regina caught his wrists in her hands pulling them away, her grip strong from countless hours spent steering horses and nocking arrows. She pinned his wrists over his head, sliding her hands up so that her palms were flat against his before she threaded her fingers between his. She kissed him once, hard and sure, before whispering, "Wait," against the skin of his cheek.

Robin did as she bid him. He was fairly certain that he would have committed murder for her if she instructed him to do so in that same fashion. He watched as she sat back up and loosened the ties of her vest, shrugging out of it and tossing it aside. She caught hold of the hem of the thin linen tunic she was wearing underneath. Her confidence seemed to falter for an instant and she hesitated, her eyes flicking towards his. Apparently she found whatever she needed there, because before he had time to react Regina peeled off her tunic and leaned forward. She claimed his right hand with hers and brought it to rest on the bare skin of her chest right over her heart. When she was this close with the feeling of her pulse pounding through his hand Robin had the oddest sensation of the rest of the world simply ceasing to exist. He was drowning in her already- the scent of her hair as it fell against the skin of his neck- the sound of her voice- the feeling of her skin beneath his rough, calloused hand. All of it was novel and somehow inexplicably familiar, as though he had just arrived at a place he had never been, only to discover it had truly been his home all along.

"This is what you've been fighting so hard for," Regina said, clearly referring to the heart still beating in her chest, but Robin couldn't help but think that he had spent his whole life struggling to make it right here to this moment, "Was it worth all the effort?"

Robin surprised her by sitting up against her and wrapping his other arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. The look of doubt that passed across her face as she waited for him to answer her question was heartbreaking.

"Regina, you are worth every bit and more."

Robin saw tears flood her eyes at his words and as hard as it was for him to imagine, he realized that this might be the first time in her life that anyone had ever told her that she was worth fighting for, worth risking everything for. He sealed his assertion with a kiss and resolved to spend the rest of the days of his life fighting for her until one day she truly believed him.

Regina seemed suddenly uncomfortable being the only one who was undressed and reached forward pulling at the fabric of the shirt he was wearing until she found the hem. She pushed the worn cotton fabric up his chest and over his head, Robin having to lean back to disentangle himself from the sleeves. She smiled at him after he tossed the shirt aside and used both of her hands to smooth back his hair that was now sticking out at odd angles.

As Regina wrapped her arms around his neck, Robin leaned towards her allowing his tongue to trace the hollow at the base of her throat as his hands slid from the sides of her waists to her full breasts. He took them fully in his hands circling her nipples with his thumbs gently at first and them slightly more forcefully, kneading them into arousal. Regina let out a gasp of approval and instinctively moved her hips against him. Robin buried his face against her skin loving the way that the familiar scent of the forest seemed to cling to every inch of her. Regina reached down pulling at the laces of his breeches and freeing his cock. She kept one arm around his shoulders as leaned back against his bent legs and she took him firmly in her other hand. Robin was already so hard that when she ran her hand up his shaft with firm pulsing pressure he realized he couldn't bear to wait much longer.

He wrapped his arm around Regina's back and turned them so that she was lying on her back on his bedroll with him on top. She undid the laces of her own breeches and Robin slid them off of her hips. Regina let out a little noise of frustration as she realized that she was still wearing her boots. She reached down, tugging at the laces and Robin couldn't help but feel even more aroused when he realized that she seemed just as anxious to get things going as he was.

"Let me," he said before sitting up and pulling at the laces of the boots enough so that she could kick them off and slide her pants the rest of the way off. Robin hurriedly shed his own breeches and then laid back down with her, " now where were we?" he teased before leaning forward and kissing her long and deep enough that they were both a little breathless when they broke apart.

He trailed his hand down her stomach to the mound between her legs, slipping one finger into the warm wetness there. He stroked her experimentally at first, once again having the odd sensation of familiarity as his fingers seemed to automatically know where she wanted them.

"There," she breathed out encouragingly, closing her eyes and her fingers digging into his shoulder as he found just the right spot. He slid in a second finger to join the first as her breath started to come in shorter and shorter gasps. She unexpectedly reached up taking his face in both her hands looking him squarely in the eyes, "Robin, I want you inside me, now," she instructed, her voice full of an almost regal authority.

Robin eagerly obliged, moving one hand to her hip and bracing the other over her shoulder to steady himself, Regina letting out a noise of approval as he thrust inside her. She kept her hold on his face, pulling him to her for a kiss as he moved against her. Robin felt her foot move up the back of his leg as he thrust and he reached down hooking his hand behind her knee and lifting it to increase the angle that seemed to be working for her. Regina let out a little cry of pleasure when he did and they moved together, breathing hard together with their mouths open against one another. Robin felt the building rush of pressure that he knew meant that he was close. He thrust against her again, lifting her leg still slightly higher and Regina let out a shuddering cry as as she finished. Robin moved once more inside her and finished with a rush of pleasure so intense that he thought he might lose consciousness. After he was done he collapsed against her, both of their bodies slick with sweat as Regina wrapped her arms around him pulling him close. The gesture struck Robin as bizarrely protective especially from someone that he had spent so much of the past year trying to keep alive, but he had the thought that he had never felt safer or more secure than he did in this moment.

 **Regina**

Regina pulled the stopper out of the small glass bottle that Maleficent had given her with her teeth and drained the contents in one long swallow. She coughed violently as the foul tasting liquid tore at her throat on the way down, but she prayed that it would do its work. She glanced down and saw thin red lines tracing their way just beneath the surface of her skin, disappearing under the the bloody remains of her pant leg, seemingly racing one another towards her heart. She had remembered her friend's other instruction too and had buried a dagger deep in the smoldering coals of the fireplace to heat the blade.

"You have to burn the poison out," the blind woman had told her before she died, so Regina braced herself for the truly unpleasant task of doing just that. She pulled one of her leather riding gloves that was folded over her belt and rolled it up before shoving it into her mouth and biting down hard on it to keep herself from either biting through her tongue or screaming too loudly. As the poison blades proved Snow White was nothing if not thorough and there was a decent chance that the Queen's knights had pursued her. Regina caught hold of the dagger's handle sticking out of the embers and pulled it out seeing the the blade glowed bright orange. She took a deep steadying breath through her nose and then without giving herself time to talk herself out of it pressed the searing hot blade against the injured flesh of her leg.

The pain was more immediate and intense than any other pain she had ever experienced, but it was fortunately very short lived. After only a few seconds of the dagger burning her skin the darkness that had been threatening to overtake her finally dragged her down and Regina felt herself topple off of the little wooden stool and plummet into the blackness beyond.

The darkness seemed to force thick smoky tendrils down her throat, filling her lungs with fire. She choked and gasped, but it was no use. The harder she struggled, the more the darkness seemed to consume her, until it was impossible to tell where she ended and it began. Her flesh burned and felt like it was being flayed from her bones as she became one with all consuming black void.

Until suddenly, Regina landed hard face down on an oddly plush floor. The burning stopped and her lungs cleared and she felt a surge of relief as she was finally able to breathe again. She pressed herself up into a seated position and was startled to see that her leg was no longer injured. It wasn't as though the injury had healed. It was as though it had never been there at all, her pant leg wasn't even torn or stained with blood. She raised a hand to her eye and found that the swelling beneath it had vanished as well.

"What the hell?" she breathed out.

Regina surveyed her surroundings and saw that she was in some sort of hallway in a building that she had never been in before. The floor was made of some sort of plush cream colored carpet, finer than any rug she had ever seen. The walls were strange, they seemed to be made of one continuous piece of some sort white material, without any of the obvious joints or chinks of wood or stone like walls in cabins or even castle halls. Nothing about her surroundings seemed overtly threatening, on the contrary, everything about them seemed somehow to have been calculated provide an air of comfort, but something about this place made Regina nervous. Perhaps, it was the fact that she could not shake the oddest sense of familiarity. She was absolutely certain that she had never been to this place before, but some small part of her felt as though she belonged here.

Suddenly, she became aware of the sound of someone talking quietly coming from one of the partially opened doors a little further down the hallway. Regina got quickly to her feet and flattened herself against one of the walls in case whoever it was should emerge from the room. Instinctively she reached to her back to retrieve her bow and cursed internally when she found that her quiver was not strapped across her back. Regina vaguely remembered hanging it on the peg just inside her little home as she limped inside and just for once wished she had not become such a creature of habit. She felt for her dagger and remembered that it had fallen from her hand after she had used it to close her wound. She was completely unarmed. She looked around for anything that she might be able to use as a weapon and her eyes fell on a marble figurine of a horse on a table in the hallway. Picking it up Regina found that it fit nicely in her hand and was heavy enough that it could do some damage if she swung it forcefully enough.

Now that she had a makeshift weapon she made her way cautiously down the hallway towards the sound of talking. As she approached she noticed that the voice was definitely a woman's and was talking with a consistent cadence as though they were reading out loud.

"...And he did. And oh, the tree was happy. Oh, the tree was glad," The woman's voice said to whomever she was reading to as Regina approached the opening of the door and glanced inside.

What she saw there was so startling and incongruous that she nearly dropped the stone horse that was clutched in her hand. Seated in a rocking chair by the window directly across from the door was a woman who looked exactly like her with a small boy snuggled on her lap, clearly on the verge of falling asleep. Regina automatically took a step back away from this strange sight and literally shook her head against the confusing swell of emotions that it caused to rise in her chest.

After a moment, curiosity got the better of her and she told herself that she was being foolish. The fact that this strange woman bore a strong resemblance to her was just a coincidence in didn't actually mean anything. Plus, there was a part of her that she didn't fully understand that desperately wanted to see the little boy's face again. So she tentatively stepped forward to where she could peer into the room again.

The little boy had fully fallen asleep against the woman's shoulder. Regina watched as the woman reached over smoothing down his head of chestnut brown hair with her hand, kissing him on the forehead. She had finished the book and discarded it on the floor beside the chair, but she clearly knew the last bit by memory and added quietly, "And she loved a little boy very, very much - even more than she loved herself."

Tears filled the woman's eyes as she spoke and she turned her face away so that she could stare out the window. Tears sliding down her cheek before she raised the hand that wasn't holding the boy to wipe them away. Her expression betraying that she was ashamed to be crying even alone with no one to see within the safety of her own home.

The feeling felt all too familiar to Regina. She had lost count of the number of times that she had forced herself to choke down her tears, even when she was completely alone. Knowing that if she allowed herself to indulge in weakness for even a moment everything about the fragile balance of her life would crumble. Watching this woman now she felt tears sting the corner of her own eyes just remembering that feeling. When she did so Regina caught a glimpse of the scar on the skin above the woman's lip and raised a hand to feel the exact scar in the same place on her own face.

In that moment she realized that somehow what seemed impossible had to be the truth. This woman didn't just look like her, this woman was her. It didn't make any sense, but staring at her now there was no denying it. The face she was looking at was her own. This other her had shorter hair and was cleaner than she had ever been in her entire life and judging by the opulence of her surroundings her life had taken a radically different path, but underneath all that they were the same.

Regina had no idea how any of that could be true, but had seen enough magic in the world to know that if something unbelievable happened sorcery was almost always the explanation. She wondered if this were some sort of side effect of the poison she had been given. A large part of her wanted to simply charge into the room and demand explanations of this other version of herself. She wanted to know where she was... when she was... More than anything she wanted to know about the little boy resting his head against her shoulder. Was he her son? Did he have a father? In this life did she have a family? Was she a decent mother?

Regina had never even allowed herself to consider the idea of ever having children of her own. She had spent her entire life on the run, always managing to stay one step ahead of death and that was no life for a child. She had never even allowed herself to form any serious attachments to any other people. She had always told herself that if her own parents, people biologically required to love her couldn't bear to keep her, then what were the odds that she could make it work with anyone else.

There had been a fling or two when she was younger, one with a hat toting thief named Jefferson that could have been something serious, but in the end she had left him in the middle of the night, not willing to let him end up with his head mounted on Snow White's wall just because she was tired of coming home to an empty bed. Regina had heard that he had married and had a family of his own now and she was glad, she had never truly wanted any of those things with him. She had never thought she wanted any of those things at all, but something about this little boy tugged at her heart in a way that no other person ever had. She wondered what it might be like to have a family.

Unexpectedly, she thought of the stranger on the road last night who had risked his life for hers. Regina suddenly wondered what it might be like to have him as a partner, to raise a family with him. Regina told herself firmly that she was being insane. She didn't even know his name. She had barely even gotten a look at his face. All that she had seen aside from his green doublet, was a glimpse of a tattoo on his wrist of some sort of crest. He had done her an amazing service, but that was all. She was likely never to see him again.

Regina shifted her weight and the floorboard she was standing on creaked unexpectedly. The woman in the rocking chair looked up sharply and saw her in the doorway.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

Before Regina could answer the floor beneath her feet disintegrated and she tumbled backwards into open air. This time at least she was slightly more prepared for the fall and with instincts born from years of falling from trees and from the back of running horses she was at least able to roll once she hit the ground. She let out a grunt of pain when her side collided with the wide curved leg of a white stone table of some kind.

Regina looked around and saw that she was in a black and white room that was oddly reminiscent of the throne rooms that she had seen. The floor was dominated by a large black a white marble sunburst and the word "magister" was carved over the odd looking door to the room. Yet again the room felt simultaneously strange and familiar.

Regina rolled onto her side and pushed herself up to her feet before starting to explore the room around her. The stone table she had collided with appeared to be some sort of writing desk. It was covered with an assortment of black objects made out of an oddly light hard substance, that she assumed must be some sort of metal. The only thing on the table that made any sense to her was a small silver chest covered with elegant designs hammered into its surface. It was obviously a place for storing valuables and years of surviving as a thief made Regina's fingers itch to rifle through its contents.

Regina looked over her shoulder at the glass surface of the door and then used a letter opener to force the lock on the chest and open its lid. Inside she found one of the strangest assortments of items she had ever seen. There was a heavy iron ring holding dozens of keys, each with an identical skull on its head, there didn't appear to be any discernible way to tell them apart or determine what they opened. Regina shrugged to herself once again reaffirming something she had learned long ago. The richer the individual the more eccentric they tended to be, and whoever owned this room appeared to be very wealthy indeed.

Beside the ring of keys she found a smaller metal casket that she eased open, hoping that this at least might contain something valuable. She let out a gasp of surprise when she opened the lid to reveal the faint glow of magically enchanted human heart contained inside. Regina quickly snapped the lid closed and replaced the casket in the chest, once again glancing at the door thinking whoever these things belonged to it was not someone that she wanted to catch her in the act of pawing through their valuables. She was on the verge of simply closing the chest and starting focus on trying to find a way out of this bizarre "Magister's" throne room when the last item in the chest caught her eye. It was a small ring box covered in crimson colored velvet. Regina could not have explained why it called to her but something deep inside her compelled her to reach forward and open the lid of little oval shaped box. Inside, resting on velvet much finer than it deserved was a simple brass ring.

Regina picked it up, holding it between her thumb and forefinger so that she could examine it more closely. As she stared at the simple rope like design that twisted around its surface, Regina suddenly recognized it as one of the brass rings used to adorn the sides of finely made horse saddles. It was such a peculiar thing to keep that she started to worry that whomever this building belonged to they might genuinely be insane. Still, as she went to place the ring back in the velvet box an impulse she didn't understand made her hesitate. She paused, then without any idea why she slipped the worthless piece of saddle decoration onto her left ring finger. It fit her finger oddly perfectly and Regina felt such an intense flood of emotions at the sight that her chest actually hurt.

She raised her other hand to her chest trying to ease the pain and was confronted by an overwhelming series of images that didn't make any sense. An older woman gripping her by the shoulders, the woman's voice ice cold as she said, "this is your happy ending."- an apple cheeked little girl with eyes filled with tears as she said that she had only been trying to help her- a old man with a crown dropping to one knee in front of her- a young man with kind eyes wrapping her in his arms beneath an apple tree. Regina ripped the ring off of her finger as quickly as she could manage and shoved it back its box. She tossed it back into the silver chest and slammed the lid closed, stumbling back away from the ring and all of the strange things it had shown her.

She took a deep steadying breath telling herself that the ring had simply been enchanted. It likely showed everyone who wore it some version of the same story. But if that were true then why had it all felt so familiar? Why had her cheeks been wet with tears when she had finally taken it off? Nothing that was happening to her made any sense. It felt like the more information that she got the more the threads of her real life seemed to unravel.

Desperate for anything to distract her from her wildly careening thoughts, Regina glanced out the window that she had backed up against in her panic. Her heart leapt into her throat as she saw that what was unmistakably the same apple tree from her visions was growing on the carefully manicured lawn below the window. She didn't know why but she was absolutely certain that the answers that she sought could be found beneath that tree.

She crossed the room to the only door, desperation drowning out fear. She twisted the knob and found that it was locked. She scrambled to find something to break the glass portion of the door and was on the verge of shattering it with a metal candlestick holder when the air in the room seemed to suddenly change.

Regina looked to her right and saw that what had been a hearth just a second ago seemed to have melted away to reveal a stone staircase. The staircase had no place in the room and appeared to have been summoned by her simply thinking about how badly she needed a way out. Without allowing herself another instant to question its existence, Regina crossed to the stone stairs and started to follow them down.


	4. An Empty Tent and an Apple Tree

**Chapter 4**

 **An Empty Tent and an Apple Tree**

 **Robin**

Robin woke a few hours later, feeling more at peace than he could ever remember. It seemed as though after a lifetime of fumbling blindly in the dark he had finally found his path. It took a moment before he shivered slightly and his mind cleared of sleep and realized that he was in his tent alone.

He opened his eyes instinctively feeling the empty space on his bedroll where Regina had been when he had fallen asleep. He knew it was a foolish thing to do but he couldn't wrap his head around her being gone. They had laid together for a long while afterwards, talking occasionally but often just laying in comfortable silence listening to the sounds of the forest night around them. After a while Robin had felt Regina's breathing slow and even out and realized that she had fallen asleep with her head resting against his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her.

Shifting ever so slightly, so as not to wake her Robin and gently smoothed her hair back from her face. He had that same overwhelming feeling of wanting to fight beside her for the rest of his days, of wanting to make her always feel this safe and protected beside him. He knew that it was insane and it was much too soon, but looking at her in that moment Robin had not been able to stop himself from saying the words out loud, even though he knew she was asleep and she would never know he had spoken them.

"I love you," he said so quietly it was barely audible and for the first time in his life he felt those words as the promise that they were always meant to be. This time he was playing for keeps and he hated himself for ever settling for anything else.

And now he was lying cold and naked in an empty tent, Robin thought and he almost laughed at the irony of the whole situation. He was the one with a fiancé waiting for him and yet Regina had been the one to slip out on him in the middle of the night. Robin had the horrible thought that she might have someone else as well and felt even the idea twist in his gut like a knife. He thought that perhaps he should have mentioned Zelena last night, but in all honesty, aside from one passing thought when Regina had first arrived in his tent, he had not thought at all of the woman that he had asked to be his wife. Robin knew he should hate himself for what he had done, he knew his actions of last night had been far from honorable or respectful of his fiance, but for once in his life he had followed his heart rather than his honor and now that he had actually met her, Robin knew that his heart would always belong to Regina. Perhaps it always had. Robin resolved the only decent thing to do at this point was to tell Regina the truth and then end things with Zelena as soon as he saw her again. There was a decent chance that they would both hate him, but he knew they both had every right. Even if Regina had truly chosen to abandon him tonight, Robin knew he could never go back to Zelena.

He ran a hand over his face, rubbing the stubble on his chin and resolving that he needed some fresh air. He rolled over and fished around in the darkness for his breeches and shirt and was surprised when his hand seized a handful of fur from the collar of the vest that Regina had been wearing. He felt a little swell of hope as he groped around further and felt two boots much too small to be his own. Perhaps she hadn't abandoned him after all.

Robin quickly got dressed and stepped out of his tent, feeling a palpable flood of relief when he saw Regina knelt down beside the beginning of a fire. Robin stood for a second just watching her hands in the dim light of the moon as she sparked a flint and breathed life into a little nest of dried leaves before placing it at the heart of the fire and watching the flames catch. Robin leaned back inside the tent and grabbed a blanket before crossing the little distance to her.

"I thought you had walked out on me," Robin said, with a grin as he joined her beside the fire.

"Not a completely irrational fear, I've done it before," Regina answered, standing up beside him and letting the statement hang in the air between them for a long moment before sighing and admitting, "but, I'm not going anywhere this time. I said I wanted to give this partner thing a try and I meant it…besides, you are very good in…tent."

"You are quite impressive yourself," Robin said with a little laugh before leaning towards her and kissing her gently, sliding an arm around her waist.

"Sorry, I worried you," Regina added more seriously, "I just got cold and the fire had burned out."

"No need to apologize, my lady. And as to being cold…" Robin wrapped the blanket he had grabbed from the tent around her shoulders.

"Thanks," Regina said, with a slightly nervous smile as he kept his hold on the front of the blanket, pulling her closer, "about this whole 'my lady' business…I hate to break this to you, but I am about as lowborn as they come. Literally, they found me in a roadside ditch…So; you might want to save the noble titles for someone a little more deserving of them."

"Birth doesn't make anyone deserving of their titles," Robin said, "I've been called the Prince of Thieves," he did his best imitation of a pompous upper class accent when he said this and Regina let out a little snort of laughter. "It's a ridiculous title and one that I'm not at all sure I've earned, but the damn things stuck. No one seems to care that my parents were farmers…not even very good farmers, I can't remember a winter when we actually had enough food to eat. We were hungry, but somehow still happy…what they lacked in farming ability they definitely made up for in love. I remember every year the only way that we survived was that the entire village came together and everyone took care of one another. No one ever got rich that way but it kept us all alive…"

"That sounds nice,"

"It was," Robin said, feeling old dark resentment seize his chest as he added, "until Prince James and his knights rode into to town. The entitled shits ate more than their share, pilfering our winter stores. I remember if a woman interested them...they simply took her from her family, no concern for whether she had children or a husband. It was awful...It tore our little village apart. My parents were some of the only people in town with the courage to stand up and say that what was happening was wrong and as payment _his royal highness_ had them chained up in our barn with our livestock and burned the building down."

Regina covered her mouth with her hand, "Oh my God, Robin, I'm…I'm so sorry that happened. That's horrible."

Robin looked away from her, blinking rapidly trying to clear away the flames that burned behind his eyes and the screams, animal and human alike, that filled his ears that night. The story felt like smoke in his throat and he realized that he had worked so hard to forget about that day that he had never shared the events that had transpired with another living soul…not Will…not Zelena…no one. He had simply packed it away with his paltry belongings when he had left his village that day and carried the burden of his grief silently ever since.

"That was when I realized that something had to be done to right the balance of power in this country. I'm ashamed to say that I spent many days simply stealing to stay alive before I understood that my skills could be used to make a difference. That's how I established the code that my men and I live by: to steal from the rich and give to the poor. It may not be a perfect system but it reminds the high born shits in this country that have done nothing to deserve their power or wealth that they have responsibility to those they rule and if they won't meet it then we shall make them."

Regina looked up at him, a warmth in her dark eyes that he hadn't seen before. She reached up and rested one of her hands on his cheek.

"Do you have any idea how few people would go through what you went through and come out of it dedicated to helping others? You have every excuse to be angry and cruel and fueled by vengeance, but instead you dedicated your life to making this country a better place. You are an extraordinary person and I think the first true hero I've have ever met."

"I'm just a simple thief," Robin said, overwhelmed by her assertion.

"I don't see that the two are mutually exclusive," Regina said with a smirk, before standing up on her tip toes and kissing him. Her hand sliding from his cheek to the back his neck, her other gripping the fabric of neck of his tunic and pulling him closer to her. Robin kissed her back eagerly letting go of his hold on the blanket and sliding a hand into her long dark hair that she had let out of the braid she had been wearing earlier. It fell around her shoulders and down her back and flooded his world with the scent of her.

After a few moments they broke apart, Robin resting his forehead against Regina's before saying, "I call you my lady, because out here we are all equal, highborn or low and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the title…and I know it's presumptuous of me but I…I just enjoy calling you mine."

"Good answer," Regina said, pulling his face to her and kissing him hard, her mouth open against his. Robin allowed his hands to travel over the curves of her body until they slid over her hips and he gripped her ass firmly and lifted her off the ground. Regina let out a little noise of surprise at the sudden movement, but then wrapped her legs around his waist and and twined her arms around his shoulders.

"And you are mine," she breathed out, before kissing him with claiming force as Robin carried her back towards the tent.

 **Regina**

The dull sound of a heartbeat thudded inside Regina's ears and it took a moment for her to realize that that the sound was emanating from inside the stone walls of the staircase. Regina fought to shake off a chill as she remembered the one time she had seen the inside of Snow White's vault. It had been the closest that she had ever come to the death and she still had nightmares about the way that the countless hearts that lined the walls all seemed to beat with a single pulse. Somehow all serving to underscore the Queen's threats as the blank blue eyes of her pet, "Charming," watched seemingly immune to the horrors surrounding him.

Regina squared her shoulders against this old horror. That day had passed and she had survived. She needed to focus on making sense of this strange world she had been thrust into, if she were going to do the same thing now.

At the bottom of the stairs was a long stone corridor lined on either side by rows and rows of glowing hearts in miniature caskets. It looked similar to the Queen's vault, but a different energy seemed to permeate this place. It felt familiar to Regina in the same way that everything in this world had, but this place felt somehow even more ancient. It was as though she had not returned here in years and as soon as she stepped inside Regina was absolutely certain that awful things had happened here. No specific memories surfaced, but she felt suddenly incredibly small and helpless and had an irresistible compulsion to simply run through this hallway as quickly as she could and never return.

So that was exactly what she did. She ran along the corridor as fast as her legs could carry her, trying to ignore the strange pull of the pulsing hearts and the way something deep within the center of the room seemed to be trying to draw her in, to keep her here trapped forever. Regina forced herself to focus all of her energy on reaching the staircase at the other end that was awash in light from the outside world. When she finally reached it she threw herself up it, in such a rush that she stumbled twice and had to fight to keep her feet underneath her. Finally, she burst through the opening at the top and out onto the manicured lawn she had seen from the window above.

Doubled over and struggling to catch her breath she glanced up at the window she had looked through and realized that there was no logistical way that the tunnel she had just run through had actually existed. Before she had time to try and make sense of this latest strange revelation she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her. She looked up and saw a man walking towards her from the direction of the apple tree. When he saw her his face broke into a warm, relieved smile and he hurried to her side.

"Regina," he said, putting a hand on her arm, "Thank God, you're alright."

As he did this she caught a glimpse of a black tattoo on the inside of his wrist. It bore the shape of a shield with a lion on it. She recognized it as the same one as she had seen on the man who had helped her escape from the Black Guard. She reached out, firmly gripping his hand in hers and turning it so that she could get a better look at his tattoo.

"This...I've seen this before,"

"I should hope so," the man said, looking confused.

"You're him," Regina said, "You're the man from the road. How do you know me? Who are you? Why did you help?"

"Regina, my love, what are you talking about? What road?" he questioned, looking genuinely worried as he reached out trying to take her in his arms, "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine..." she said, taking a step away from him, "Why did you just call me that? I'm not your 'love.' I'm not your anything. I had never seen you before last night...Why are you talking to me like we know each other?"

The man studied her face silently for a moment, a strange sadness in his expression. He motioned towards a bench beside the tree.

"We seem to have very different recollections of the past..." he paused searching for the best words to say what he needed to say, "I've learned that this town often does strange things to people's memories...Perhaps...would you? Could we sit and maybe you could tell me about what happened on the road yesterday when you remember us meeting?"

Regina considered him carefully for a second, telling herself firmly that he was likely an insane person and she should probably put as much distance between them as she could, but something in his green eyes made her hesitate. She remembered how close he had come to dying for her the night before and she supposed that bought him a few moments of her time. Finally she nodded at him and the crossed to the bench and sat down. Regina instinctively perching on the edge of the lacquered wooden seat just in case she needed to bolt, still not entirely sure how she felt about this stranger.

She looked him over, studying the stubble that covered his strong jaw and hint of lines starting to form beside his eyes that spoke of someone who smiled often and easily. Like most of the people she had come across since searing the wound on her leg his clothing appeared to made out of fabrics that she couldn't easily identify. Even though he didn't appear to be armed he still wore a leather strap across his chest almost as though he was longing to be wearing a quiver. Regina wasn't sure why, but she found something about this oddly charming. It felt as though he had made some concessions to living in this strange world but still longed to be roaming the woods that were her home. This realization made her feel a sense of kinship to him. Regina noticed that he rested his arm on the armrest of the bench and that his injury seemed to have mended itself as well.

"Your shoulder seems to have healed up nicely," she volunteered, a little awkwardly.

"Indeed," he responded, raising an eyebrow at her curiously, "was it injured?"

"You really remember nothing about last night then," Regina said letting out a sigh.

"I do, but I think I remember a different last night than you do. Why don't you tell me what you remember? Perhaps start with how I hurt my shoulder..." he suggested.

"Fair enough," Regina said, turning more completely towards him, still not entirely sure what was compelling her to stay, but having the strangest sensation that she had to make him understand. "You were injured during a swordfight with one of Snow White's Black Guards. I was trying to rob a carriage bound for the Queen's castle. It turned out to be a set up and I was ambushed and captured. They were going to kill me and carve my heart from my chest, but you saved me...I have no idea why, but you did. Even still, I just barely escaped...I had to leave you there, injured and still fighting...I'm so sorry...I should have..." Regina's voice died in her throat as she thought of the way that she had just left him behind. It had been such an easy thing to do in the heat of the moment, but actually having to say it now to his face...the guilt felt like a lead weight in her chest. He had risked everything to help a perfect stranger and she had ridden away from him without a second thought.

"A sword fight? No wonder I was injured. It's a miracle I didn't lose my head...swords have never exactly been my weapon," he said shaking his head with a self deprecating laugh before asking, "Wait...Snow White was trying to kill you?"

"She's been hunting me for years," Regina explained, thinking it was odd that this was the part of her story that should trouble him. He sat for a long second in silence, clearly trying to make sense of everything that she had told him.

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for, my lady," he said with a kind smile. Regina felt a deep confusing swell of emotions at him calling her this.

"Did you not hear me?" Regina questioned indignantly, "I just told you that you saved my life and I abandoned you to die."

"If the situation was as dire as you just described then I guarantee I would have wanted you to do exactly as you did. To get the hell out of there...to get yourself some place safe. It wouldn't be much of a daring rescue if you got killed or recaptured coming back to save me. Plus, I am very resourceful and clearly not that easy to kill," he said with a grin, indicating the fact that he was still sitting there.

"Why?" Regina demanded, "Why do you care what happens to me?"

"Regina," He reached out and gently took one of her hands in his and Regina surprised herself by allowing him to hold it, "Our stories have always been tied together, no matter what world or time we end up in, that is always true. We've been torn apart more times than I can count... but we always find a way back to each other...I know how this sounds...do you believe in magic?"

"Of course," Regina said, thinking that was an odd question, "you have a witch try to tear your heart out enough times you can't help but believe in it."

Robin shook his head at this, "It's so strange to hear you talk like that."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing...I just," He cleared his throat and then continued, "what I was saying before, the Regina I remember, well, a long time ago someone showed her a glimpse of the person that she was destined to be with and this was what they showed her," he let go of her hand and pushed up his sleeve and turned over his wrist to better reveal his tattoo.

"That was all that I saw of the man who helped me on the road..." Regina breathed out, "are you trying to tell me that you're the person I'm destined to be with...like what...my soulmate or something?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

"I know how it sounds and that it's a lot to take in," he said, a shadow of hurt traveling across his face at her cynicism, "And you don't have to believe me...I just thought you should know."

"If what you say is true then I'm afraid you got a very raw deal indeed," Regina said shaking her head, "I am not someone that you want in your life. You need to get as far away from me as you can and just forget about me...what?" she asked at the sad smile on his face.

"This is not the first time that you've told me to do that."

"I'm guessing you didn't listen to me then either...what's your name?" Regina asked, realizing it was probably strange that she had not asked this question before now. So much about him felt familiar that it had simply not occurred to her to press the issue until now.

"Robin."

"Wait...Robin Hood?"

"Finally," A cold female voice said with what was clearly an exasperated sigh. Both Robin and Regina looked up to a see a woman standing beside the apple tree in an ornate crimson and black brocade gown, with a high black feather collar that hid much of her face.

"Snow..." Regina breathed out in fear, quickly getting to her feet.

"No, you idiot...And since when are we afraid of Snow White?" The woman said turning to face them, revealing features much sharper than the deceptively soft curves of Snow White's face. For the second time that day Regina had the unsettling feeling of looking directly into her own face. This time it was heavily made up and wore a cruel, superior smirk, but once again it was undeniably herself. "And what the hell are you wearing?"

"What am I wearing?" Regina questioned arching an eyebrow at the other woman's ornate gown and jewels.

"Oh, yes dear, poke fun. At least I'm not the one who's completely forgotten who I am. Honestly, sleeping in a hollowed out log, running around the countryside like an unwashed ruffian, and hiding from the likes of the two idiots. I'm...excuse me, we're... a queen for god's sake."

"Wait, What the hell is going on? How are you here?" Robin asked stepping between the two versions of herself and addressing the more finely dressed version.

"Robin, my love, I'm sorry but I think you've done all that you can do here," The more regal version of herself said taking a step towards him, before lifting her hand with a little flourish, "This is between us," with that she flicked her wrist and Robin fell to the ground in a heap.

Regina let out a little cry of fear and instinctively rushed to his side pushing him onto his back and shaking him by his shoulder, "What did you do to him?"

"Relax," the version of herself claiming to be a queen said dismissively, reaching up and plucking an apple from one of the branches of the tree, "I didn't hurt him. I would never do that to us. He's just unconscious. Now, you and I need to talk." With that she tossed the apple at Regina who instinctively raised her hands and caught it right before it hit her in the face.


	5. Where Your Fight Comes From

**Chapter 5**

 **Where Your Fight Comes From**

 **Robin**

Regina returned to the campfire with an armload of firewood at roughly the same time that Robin crested the hill after watering his horse and refilling both of their water skins.

"I come bearing gifts," he said with a smile as she deposited the firewood in a pile and joined him on the overturned log beside the fire. Robin opened the old handkerchief that he had filled with ripe blackberries he had picked from a bush beside the stream and presented them to her as though they were some type of treasure.

"Oh, I can't possibly accept...this is too much," Regina teased, raising her hand to her chest as though overwhelmed by the gift.

"Nothing's too fine for my lady," Robin said with a laugh.

Regina laughed at this as well and leaned forward kissing him before stealing one of the berries out of his hand and pulling away to pop it into her mouth. Robin rested a hand on the side of her face and pulled her to him for a slightly deeper kiss afterwards. Regina letting out a contented little sigh when they broke apart.

"If we start that again...we are never going to finish breaking down camp."

"We could always just live here," Robin suggested, with a shrug.

"We could, but I think you said something about having a band of men to lead and a revolution you wanted us to start...Oh, and staying in one place probably isn't our best bet since there is the little matter of the Queen who wants me dead," Regina said, patting him on the chest and getting to her feet before crossing the little distance to tent.

"That's not going to happen," Robin said, his voice suddenly more serious, finding that he didn't even like the sound of Regina saying those words out loud. She looked up from where she was stuffing her meager belongings back in the pack that she had stowed outside of his tent last night. For a long charged moment she just held his gaze, burnished brown pressing hard against green, before she let out a sigh.

"Robin, it might..."

"No. I won't let it. The Merry Men and I...we can protect you. Things are going to be different for you from now on," He said emphatically, getting to his feet and crossing to her side. Taking her arms in his hands and she stood to meet him.

"I believe you," she said, with a sad smile before adding, "but that wasn't what I meant. I meant that for the first time in as long as I can remember I am not afraid of dying, because I finally feel like my death wouldn't be meaningless. I finally have something worth fighting for...I'm not just some scared little rabbit ducking in and out of whatever hole I can find, desperately trying to save my own hide...You changed that...you helped me see that I could be more than that...that I have to be more than that...I...just...thank you."

"I didn't change anything," Robin said, feeling his heart swell with pride for the woman he was holding in his arms. He had no idea how she could not see how much of an impact she had already had the on the world around her...how much of an impact she had already had on him. "I just helped you see what you've always been. You're a hero, Regina, in the truest sense."

He leaned forward to kiss her, but stopped halfway to her. Robin was suddenly distracted by the way the world behind her seemed to shimmer and shift. All of the lights and colors bending and refracting strangely in much the same way that sunlight did across the surface of a flat lake on the hottest days of summer. He felt a strange wave of heat creep across the surface of his skin and a sudden stab of pain shot through his left arm.

He let out a grunt of pain and stumbled backwards only to look up and see that Regina was no longer standing in front of him.

"What the fuck?" Robin muttered to himself as he spun around desperately trying to find her. He raised his right hand to the throbbing in his shoulder and when he pulled it away he saw that his fingers were coated with blood. He took a step forward thinking that whatever had injured him might have done far worse to her and trying to force himself to make sense of the way that the forest around him continuously shifted in and out of focus.

"Regina, where are you!" he called, taking another somewhat clumsy step on the ground that lurched under his feet, seemingly determined to throw him down.

"Robin!" He heard a distant voice call his name and instinctively started to run towards it, but as he did the world in front of him erupted into flames. The sheer force of the blast threw him onto his back and he heard shrieks and bellows of pain and panic coming from the other side of what at first appeared to be an infinite wall of flames, but as Robin's vision cleared he recognized it as enormous barn. It took a moment for him to tell the voices apart but once he was able to separate them he started to recognize them.

"Help us! You said we'd be safe here, mate!" He heard Will's voice call from just inside the main door. Robin could see his young friend's soot streaked face between the slats of the barn's main door.

"Hang on, I'll get you out!" Robin cried, fighting desperately against the chains that held the doors shut.

"Hurry...It's...it's hard...to breathe..." Will's voice dissolved in painful wracking coughs as he desperately clawed at the chained door from the inside.

"I will! Just hang on! I'll save you!"

"No you won't!" Zelena snarled, "because you're a liar. It's your fault I'm even here. You lied to all of us. This is all your fault! I'm not even supposed to be here!"

"No! That's not...I'll get you out.. you'll be fine!" Robin said, abandoning pulling helplessly on the chains and desperately trying to find an ax or anything that he could use to pry or leverage the doors open. He searched frantically but the farmyard was impossibly empty, filled only with the heat of the flames and the screams of those he loved.

"Robin! Robin, come here son," another voice called, a voice that he hadn't heard in years beckoned him back to the barn. Robin reluctantly obeyed, his face now streaked with tears as he pounded against the cracking and burning timber with his fists.

"Son, stop," his father's voice urged him, before dissolving into coughs, "it's no use. You couldn't save us then. You can't save anyone now."

"I can. I will."

"No you won't," His mother said, her face appearing at the slat in the wood, "That's just not who you are. We will all die and you will live. You survive. You always do. It's your curse.

Through the smoke and the tears Robin saw the body of tiny little boy with a head of black curls lying on the floor of the burning barn. He had no memory of ever having seen the boy before but something about his prone figure made Robin feel as though someone had just pulled his guts from his body hand over fist, the pain was acute and devastating. The boy was clutching the hand of a dark haired woman in a scorched ill-fitting dress.

"I have to save them!" Robin screamed prying at the boards with his hands so frantically that his fingers bled as several of his fingernails tore free, "I have to save you! I will this time...This time it will be different...it will be different"

"No, it won't. Some things never change. You did this," His mother told him her voice full of accusation, "Doomed because you loved us and soon she will be too."

Before his mother's words had even died on the night air the roof of the barn collapsed with devastating finality, spraying a hail of ash and splinters into the night sky.

"No!" Robin screamed, falling to his knees and clutching his head in hands as painful sobs shook his body. He had no idea how long he sat like that, fresh grief tearing open old wounds and the pain mingling together and engulfing him. After a long while Robin felt gentle hands pulling his hands away from his face and noticed someone kneel in front of him.

"Shhh...it's over now."

He looked up into Regina's face and felt a surge of relief even through his grief. He also noticed that they were in a vast empty black chamber and the barn seemed to have vanished. She at least had somehow survived the fire. Robin launched himself forward, wrapping her tightly in his arms.

"I thought you were..."

"I'm fine."

"I'm so glad that you're alright...I thought you were in the barn with...but you weren't...you're alright..."Robin breathed out burying his face against the side of her neck, trying to make himself believe that she was real, ""They're all dead. They died right in front of me...It was all my fault...my fault...again..."

"You're right." Regina said against his ear, her voice icy cold.

"I'm sorry...what did you say?" Robin asked startled.

"I said that you were right," She repeated, disentangling herself from him. She got to her feet and stared down at him with a look of coldest disgust, "Their deaths were all your fault: your parents, Marian, who you don't even remember for fuck's sake, and the rest of ours will be too. Will, Zelena, Roland, your men, and I'm sure my blood will be on your hands when the time comes. It's your destiny. You blind, honorbound, fool!"

"Regina, why are you talking like this?"

"Why, Robin, don't like the real me?" She said with a cruel laugh, "I'm talking like this because someone had to give you a much needed dose of reality. Words never really seem to do it for you. You're much more of a physical being...How about a visual illustration?" With that she plunged her hand into her chest, but instead of her heart magically tearing free as he had seen it done by witches and wizards, Regina's hand ripped open a large bloody hole in her chest.

"Don't!" he yelled, jumping to his feet and running towards her, but he was too late. By the time he reached her Regina had already torn her heart out from beneath her ribs. Blood stained her hand and her wrist as she held it out to him.

"See the cost of your blindness, Robin," she said, examining it with clinical detachment even as blood started to coat the corners of her perfect lips, "You are a fool, but you can be more. None of this is real...It doesn't have to be and unless you see that, we will all die," Regina reached out taking his hand in hers and placing her bloody heart in his upturned palm as the color drained from her face, "Could you hold on to this for me for a while?" She asked with an oddly knowing smirk before her knees buckled underneath her and she collapsed to the floor.

 **Regina**

"Walk with me."

Regina got to her feet somewhat reluctantly and obeyed, the apple still clutched in her hands.

"Who are you?" she asked this other more regal version of herself after they had walked for several seconds in silence.

"I'm you. I thought that much was obvious. Seriously, have I suffered some sort of head injury in your version of reality or something? You seem exceedingly slow."

"And you seem like a total bitch."

"Ahh yes, but a bitch who can do this," She said producing a fist full of fire, more impressive than any Regina had ever seen Snow produce. Regina instinctively flinched, having been burned one too many times to be able to stare down the fire without any fear, "Relax, dear, I'm not going to hurt you," The other version of herself said relenting and extinguishing the flames at the sight of genuine fear in her eyes, "This other Snow White is really in your head isn't she?"

Regina just mutely nodded and they resumed their walk.

"To answer your question, I am the queen of my realm. I am actually known as the Evil Queen if you want to get technical and for some reason you have been all too willing to forget all about me."

"Why the Evil Queen?"

"Snow White has been a plague on my life in a very different way."

Regina tried for a second to process the idea of herself being queen and it felt too bizarre to even consider. It was simply too far removed from everything that she knew. And yet, there was something about this woman that had the same sort of familiarity as an echo sounding back from a distant music. She couldn't quite make out the melody, but there were strains of the song that felt right somehow.

"Why would I be so eager to forget about you? Why would I throw away being queen to live alone in a hollow tree?" Regina questioned and a pained looked passed over the other woman's face.

"I'm afraid that is a very long complicated story..."

"Well, I have nowhere to be and nothing but time," Regina said with a shrug.

"Sadly, that is not true. Our time is already growing short."

"What? Why?"

"God, you're worse than Henry," the Queen said with a laugh.

"Who?"

"Never mind," she said suddenly more businesslike, "Our life has not been an easy one and we have suffered much and inflicted perhaps even more pain, but you must remember who you really are. There are people and things you can't afford to forget..."

"Robin Hood...and that little boy I saw earlier," Regina said, as the pieces started to fall into place.

"Perhaps you're not as slow as I thought."

"Who is he to me? You know don't you? What can you tell me about him?" Regina begged feeling a desperate ache in her heart that she had never experienced before.

"Only that you love him very much," The Evil Queen said, her face softening making her look suddenly much less intimidating, "Now you must listen to me, we're running out of time..."

Even as she tried to focus Regina felt herself sway slightly on the spot as a dizzying wave of heat threatened to engulf her. She reached out an arm towards the other woman to steady herself as fresh pain shot through her leg and she looked down and saw blood start to seep through her pant leg. The Queen gripped her firmly by the arms and shook her slightly to get her to focus.

"Listen!" she commanded sharply and Regina struggled to obey, "You are going to feel things and remember things that might make you want to pretend that our past never happened, but no matter how bad it hurts you can't do that! You need the pain! Its gotten you to where you are."

Regina blinked again and saw blurry images of roughly hewn table and rustic fire place. She shook her head trying to stay present.

"I am where your fight comes from! I'm your strength, don't be afraid of me! Don't block me out entirely...use me...You need me!"

 **Robin**

"No! Don't!" Robin cried, startling awake and sitting bolt upright in bed. As he did he felt fresh pain in his shoulder and gripped his head with the hand of his uninjured arm as a violent wave of dizziness made him feel as though the bed beneath him were spinning.

"Easy there, mate, you gotta go slow," a familiar voice said, as Robin felt a hand on his shoulder easing him back against his pillow.

Robin allowed himself to be pushed back down and kept his eyes closed tightly until the dizziness passed. Once he felt relatively steady again, Robin slowly opened his eyes and cautiously turned his head to see Will sitting in a wooden chair beside his bed. Robin looked around and noticed that he had been moved into one of the rooms beneath the inn. He felt an odd little twinge of longing for his tent in Sherwood Forest.

"Glad to see you're awake," Will said, with a grin, "It was getting ruddy boring in here."

Robin noticed an upended hat on the floor and half a deck of playing cards scattered around it.

"I can see that," he said with a tired grin, "Although, I thought your aim was a bit better than that."

"Game got dull," Will said with a shrug, "So I started trying to make it with my eyes closed. I actually made the last three."

Robin gave him an impressed little nod.

"Seriously though, mate," Will said, his voice suddenly darker, "You had us all worried. There were a couple times during the night when I thought that it might have to be Will Scarlet and the Merry Men and I just don't think that has quite the same ring to it."

"They would be lucky to have you as a leader, Will." Robin shifted slightly, so that he could sit up against the pillows and winced as the movement jostled his shoulder, "You still sure that I can't talk you into staying around Sherwood Forest?"

Will rubbed the back of his neck as he always did when he was uncomfortable staring at the floor as though it held the secrets of the universe, "Robin, I wish I could...It's just...Ever since my little sister died...I've never really felt like I belong anywhere. She was the only family I had...her death was my fault."

"Will, someday you must find a way to forgive yourself for what happened." Robin offered, saddened by the pain and guilt in his friend's voice, "You were both just children. Penelope knew how much you loved her. She wouldn't want you to waste your whole life on regret."

"You might be right..." Will said, shaking his head, "but I still can't shake this feeling that I don't belong anywhere, that there is something...or maybe someone out there that I have to find and I'm never gonna rest easy until I do. I know that sounds bloody mental. I'm not even sure who or what I'm looking for exactly, but I just know that I'm walking around everyday feeling like half of me is missing...and whatever it is that I'm looking for it's not here. I'm sorry, you and the Merry Men have been the closest thing to a family I've known in years...I hate to let you down. I just know it's time for me to move on. Does that make sense?"

"It does and, Will, you are not letting us down," Robin said, thinking that he understood what his friend was saying better than he could ever express. As long as he could remember it had felt like he was stumbling around in a daze, blindly groping about trying to find a part of him that had been ripped away. He had no idea what was missing exactly, only that its absence ached dully every hour of every day. Ironically, the only time that the ache had ever subsided and the haze seemed to clear had been inside the fever dream that was already starting to slip away from him.

Will nodded appreciatively at this and then said, "I'll stick around until the wedding then I need to be off...how's the shoulder feeling?"

Robin shifted again and let out another grunt of pain, "It's alright."

"Liar."

"Okay, it hurts like hell, but it'll mend."

"Fair enough," Will said, passing him a cup from a little table beside the bed, "Tuck said you're to drink all of this." Robin accepted the cup and obediently took a long swallow.

"Fuck me...that's foul," Robin said having to keep himself from spitting out the bitter liquid, but unable to deny the soothing sensation as it slid down his throat. "What did Tuck put in this? Horse piss and ink?"

Will laughed at this.

"What?"

"He said you'd say that, exactly that actually."

Robin gave his young friend a weary smile at this before forcing himself to finish the rest of the potion. He looked around the small homey room as he did, noticing for the first time that they were the only two people in the room and that this was strange.

"Where's Zelena?" he asked, "Is she alright?"

Will cleared his throat a miserably uncomfortable expression on his boyish face.

"Will, what is it? What's happened?" Robin said feeling panic rise inside him.

"Nothing...nothing's happened. Zelena is fine."

"Then what is it?" Robin asked, now completely confused. He felt a stab of guilt in his chest as bits and pieces of his dream flashed across his mind's eye, but that guilt was his alone; there was no way Zelena could know about any of that.

"When your fever was at its worst...Zelena, Tuck, and I all stayed with you. We were really worried that you wouldn't survive...Anyways, you were in and out of consciousness but clearly trapped in some sort of fever dream..."

"Oh God..." Robin groaned knowing what must have happened.

"Most of what you said didn't make sense...but you asked for Regina...a lot...you said some stuff about love and then mostly just her name a bunch of times... I tried to explain to Zelena that Regina taking over the Merry Men was the only way that you could retire and have a legitimate, crime free life like she wants and that you were in the middle of rescuing Regina when you got injured and that's the only reason why you were dreaming about her...I swear I tried, mate, but you know how Zelena can be when she's mad."

"Yes, I certainly do," Robin said with a sigh, "and thank you for trying my friend. I'm sure you did your best, but this is not your mess to clean up. I'll talk to her."

Silence hung in the air for a moment as Will absently shuffled and reshuffled the remains of the deck of cards between his hands. Robin was on the verge of closing his eyes and trying to get some more rest when his friend unexpectedly broke the silence.

"Just so someone's asking the question that no one's supposed to ask," Will said, stopping his shuffling, "Are you sure you want to go through with this wedding?"

"Will, I asked Zelena to be my wife. Do you really think I would have done that if I weren't sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her?" Robin snapped. He could clearly remember the night under the willow tree along the banks of the river that he had asked Zelena to marry him. He remembered the moment that he had stared into her hauntingly translucent eyes and known that those were the eyes that he was meant to look into for the rest of his life. The memory was so immediate and fresh, but also eerily devoid of feeling. Robin could remember exactly what he had done and what he had thought, but he could not feel anything about the memory. He had no recollection of ever having chosen Zelena to be his. Robin forced himself to push these thoughts away. They were excuses. He had made a commitment and the only honorable thing to do was to honor that commitment.

"You didn't really answer my question," Will shrewdly pointed out.

"I know that you and Zelena have never really gotten on..."

"That's not why I'm asking and you know it. If I knew you were over the moon for her I would keep my bloody trap shut and wish you a lifetime of happiness. I just...are you sure you aren't in love with Regina?"

"That's insane. How could I be in love with someone I've never actually met?" Robin demanded. He tried to ignore the part of his brain that suddenly seemed to drown in the memory of her. All he had to do was close his eyes and he could feel her again, the smell of her hair as she had leaned forward claiming his mouth with hers, the beat of her heart through the palm of his hand, her foot sliding up the back of his leg, her breasts against his chest, the sound of her voice when she called him a hero...The images might be blurring and fading as dreams always did in the harsh light of day, but the feelings beneath them still felt more real to Robin than anything he had ever experienced in his waking life. But his mind reminded him harshly that none of it had been real, the Regina in his dreams last night had simply been a figment of his imagination...a phantom he had invented to comfort him and give him a way out of retiring from the job he loved. It had been an escape, it could never be anything more than that.

"I don't know that love ever makes any sense. I just know that we have now devoted nearly a year to keeping her safe. You almost died for her last night and then spent the rest of the night calling out desperately for her. I may not know much about love, but..."

"Will, you're right you know nothing about love, you've never been in it," Robin said his voice much harsher than he meant it to be. His frustration softened a bit when he saw the look of hurt on his friend's face, "I'm sorry. I know that you're only trying to help...and I appreciate that...truly I do, but love is so much more than a fever dream. It is wonderful and magical, but it is also hard work and commitment and keeping promises even when you have a rough night. I am helping Regina because I honestly believe she is the key to bringing down Snow White and freeing the people of this country. I called out for her last night because I was poisoned and sick and...yes, I was worried for her and afraid for her. I am concerned for her well being but that does not mean that I am in love with her. Do you understand me?"

After a moment Will nodded, "Well, you're clearly not going to drop dead anytime soon so I guess I'll leave you to get some rest."

"Try not to sound so disappointed," Robin teased, trying to ease the tension a bit, "I'm sure I'll find someone else to kill me soon enough."

"I'm glad you're alright, mate."

"Will, thank you for you help," Robin said, "I would have died a hundred times over if not for you. You are the truest friend a man could ask for."

 **Regina**

It took a few long moments for Regina to place the familiar smells of slightly damp earth, smoke, fur, and aged wood. When she finally recognized them as the smells of home she tentatively opened her eyes. She saw that she was sprawled out on her dirt floor beside the overturned stool that she had toppled off of when she had lost consciousness. Her dagger was lying a few inches from her hand and her crumpled riding glove was resting beside her face.

Regina had no idea how long she had been out, but the fire in the little hearth had long since gone out and the light around her was dim enough that she thought it must be night outside. Her brain felt oddly beleaguered as though half of her mind were still trapped in whatever world she had been in and the harder she tried to make sense of things the more intense the feeling became.

When she turned onto her side to try to push herself up from the floor, fresh pain exploded through her body from the wound on her thigh and Regina let out a hoarse desperate cry instinctively pulling her knee towards her chest. She lay still for a second trying to recover and then slowly propped herself up on an elbow so that she could examine the wound. The skin was blistered and waxy from where she had burned it and the initial injury was still a dark crimson color, but the the thin red lines seemed to have disappeared. Regina let out a little sigh of relief at this, it might still hurt like a bitch, but at least this wound did not appear like it was going to kill her.

"Alright, up we go," Regina instructed herself, taking a deep breath to steel herself, before reaching up and gripping the edge of the table to pull herself up to her feet. The effort was excruciating and her whole body shook violently but she managed to hoist herself up onto her uninjured leg. She quickly grabbed the flagon of water from the table, a little pot of burn salve, and a few scraps of cloth that she always kept on hand for bandages before awkwardly hopping and stumbling to the little nook that had always served as her bedchamber.

In truth it was simply the narrowest part of the tree where the trunk hollowed out to a type of sloping arc over a natural shelf. The shelf recessed about 6 feet under the arc just tall enough for her to sit up under at its highest point. Over the years that she had called this place home Regina had covered the shelf with a collection of rags and furs to form a cozy little nest, all of which she covered with a quilt she had pilfered from an obliging laundry line It was cool in summer and warm in the winter and one of Regina's favorite features of her strange little home. She always jokingly referred to it as her bedchamber in her head, because in truth it looked like something between a rabbit's warren and sparrow's nest, but it served her well.

She sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, setting the salve and the bandages beside her. She picked up the flagon of water and took a long greedy swallow directly from it. Her throat was so parched that it ached and her skin was still warm with fever. Regina forced herself to stop drinking before her thirst was completely sated, knowing that the sooner the water was gone, the sooner she would be forced to venture out to get more. She would be easy prey for the Black Knights in her current state and she couldn't count on some mysterious saviour swooping in and rescuing her this time.

 _He's probably dead anyways_ , Regina thought darkly to herself, remembering the injury she had seen him suffer. She shook her head against the thought and tore away the remains of the blood stained leg of her breeches so that she could bandage her wound. She dipped her fingers into the pot of waxy burn salve, scooping out a generous amount, and taking a deep breath before smearing it on her angry, raw flesh. It stung so badly that it caused tears to fill her eyes, but she forced herself to continue applying it. Once she was done, she wound a few strips of fabric around the wound to keep it dry and protected and then lay back on her makeshift bed, completely exhausted.

As she stared up at the familiar map made by the rough bark over her head that she had passed countless sleepless nights mentally tracing, always pretending that it held the key to her escape from this country, she thought of Zancas and the cruel fate that he had suffered. Another name to add to long list of deaths that weighed heavy on her conscience. Regina felt tears sting her eyes that she knew had nothing to do with the pain in her leg. She wondered if it were selfish to continue to fight, perhaps she should have just let the poison take her. She had considered it before, several times actually, but always the impulse to survive was simply too strong. Something always kept her fighting, something always compelled her forward.

 _There are things and people you can't afford to forget._

The words came back to her so strong and clear and she could see her own face begging her to remember, but she infuriatingly couldn't. She knew that she had dreamt while had been unconscious and that the dream had been important, but it was already being pulled away from her. It was as though she had been offered a glimpse of something she were never meant to see and now someone or something was working hurriedly to rebuild a stone wall between her and the memory. With each second that passed another stone obstructed part of her view.

She closed her eyes tightly focusing all of her might on remembering anything that she could. At first just a black void greeted her and Regina almost screamed out in frustration, but then slowly a few scattered images and sensations started to come back to her. She felt the warm weight of a hand on top of hers...an apple tree, its branches heavy with bright red apples...a child's book on the floor and her own voice saying quietly, "...even more than she loved herself."

None if it made any sense, but something about it all caused a deep well of longing to open up inside her. It wasn't the usual ache of vague loneliness that haunted her when the forest was too quiet or the night was too still. This was an acute ache for something specific, as though she had held something very dear to her and suddenly had it torn away.

Regina rarely allowed herself to cry, even as a child she had always told herself firmly that there was nothing to be gained by weeping. She had always been a guest in someone else's house and weepy children were rarely allowed to stay long. So she had learned very early on to simply stuff things down and set aside difficult emotions, for the purpose of staying housed and fed. Later as an adult the habit had been so ingrained that she didn't see any reason to change it, besides she was terrified that if she allowed herself to start crying now then all of the tears she had left unshed her whole life might force themselves to the surface. She had cried tears of shock and horror at the brutality of what the wolf girl had done to Zancas, but that was the first time she could remember crying in years.

Now suddenly an overwhelming feeling of longing for something she did not even know she was missing consumed her so completely that a sob escaped her lips. Regina was so surprised by the sudden flood of emotion that she didn't even know how to fight it. Tears slid up her cheeks into her hair and she turned onto her side. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging them tightly to her as another sob shook her. As the startling flood of emotions tried to drown her, one final piece of her dream crystallized in her mind.

 _You need the pain. It's gotten you to where you are._

 **Robin**

Robin woke some time later from a deep dreamless sleep. He felt a strange tangle of emotions when he realized that sleep had not returned him to the dream world he had inhabited the night before. On the one hand he was relieved never to have to revisit the horrors of flames and loss that had closed around him right before he had woken, but the other part of him desperately missed the life that he had started to build with the woman who had snuck into his tent and pressed an arrow against his throat. Robin supposed he should have known that the dream had been either a side effect of the poison working to snuff out his life or the antidote fighting to save it. It had been to unlike any dream had ever experienced, too holistic and all consuming, to have a natural origin.

After a moment Robin realized that the sound of the door of his room opening had been what had woken him. He shifted against his pillows to see that Zelena was hovering in the doorway holding a tray and clearly debating whether or not she actually wanted to come inside. Robin felt fresh guilt rise in his chest as he realized that even now that there was still a part of him that wanted to disappear back inside his dream with the woman he had found there, the Regina that he had either met or created there. He told himself firmly that that was just escapism talking. What man wouldn't want to return to fantasy that perfectly understood him and his ambitions? Fantasies always died in the harsh light of day because they were not built of anything of substance. What he had here with Zelena, this was his real life and he needed to focus his energy on making things right with her. It was ludicrous to sacrifice real life for a desperate escape his mind had conjured in the night.

"Not that I'm complaining, but are you planning on just dancing the doorway all night or are you going to come in?" Robin asked, chancing a small smile at her.

Zelena did not return the smile, which Robin took as a bad sign. "I haven't decided yet," she said, her ivory cheeks flushing with anger, "Tuck said you needed to get your food in your belly to get your strength back up. I brought you some soup...but right now I feel pretty tempted to either dump it in your lap or just let you starve."

"If those are my options perhaps staying by the door is fine."

"Thought you might say that," Zelena said, rolling her eyes before letting out a sigh and stepping into the room. Robin instinctively sat up a little straighter in bed and moved away from her, bracing himself for the potential impact of a scalding hot bowl of soup. The passion with which Zelena attacked everything in her life was one of the things that Robin loved about her, but it could make fighting with her a somewhat harrowing prospect. He had already had to dodge more than one piece of pottery being flung at his head during the heat of an argument.

He was relieved when Zelena set down the tray on the table beside the bed before plopping down heavily in the wooden chair that Will had occupied earlier. When she did she crossed her arms over her chest and Robin noticed that she was still wearing the delicate silver band with tiny emerald on it that he had given her when he had proposed. He took that as a good indication that as angry as she was with him that she had yet to take the ring off it do anything more dramatic to it.

"Zelena, I'm so sorry... I know that you're angry and I can only image what you must think of me but..." Robin started, wanting to smooth things over as quickly as possible.

"Have you ever fucked her?" Zelena demanded, cutting him off.

"What?" Robin asked, a little caught off guard by the bluntness of the question. And slightly disoriented by a sudden collection of somewhat blurry images of himself doing exactly that. The memories were shifting and fading, but they were still there and it made any denial feel like a lie, even though it was the truth in every technical sense.

"Robin, it's a simple question. Have you ever fucked this Regina person?" she demanded again raising one of her perfectly arched fire colored eyebrows at him.

"No," Robin said trying to lean forward, but forced to stop and let out a hiss of pain when his shoulder violently protested. He took a few deep steadying breaths, Zelena watching, her expression pitiless. Her sharp eyes seemed to be studying him, trying to catch him in a lie.

"No," he repeated again more empathically, "I had never even seen Regina until last night..."

"Right...and were just so taken with her that you had to have her," Zelena said, affecting the teasing tone she often did when she was being cruel, "tell me, dear, was it love at first sight?"

"It's not like that..."

"Robin, I'm not a fool. Please stop treating me like one," Zelena demanded sharply, "I know that I'm hardly the first woman you've been with and I know just how charming you can be...And I've seen your little side-kick in action. If Will Scarlet doesn't have his hand in some rich man's pocket then it's up some barmaid's skirt. I bet the eager little twats line up around the block for a chance to suck off the famous Robin Hood and Will Scarlett's only too eager to take your leavings..."

"Enough!" Robin snapped, sitting up towards her. The pain in his shoulder momentarily forgotten in his anger, "Say whatever you want about me, but you will not talk about Will that way. He is a true friend and I know that you two do not get along, but that does not give you the right to talk about him like that," Robin breathed in through his nose trying to get his temper back under control, "Jesus, Zelena...is that really what you think of me?"

She didn't say anything for a long moment, her jaw set firmly, but Robin noticed that her eyes were glassy as she refused to look away from him.

"Do you honestly think that I am unfaithful to you when I'm on the road?"

"I don't know," Zelena answered, suddenly unable to meet his gaze, her voice quiet in a rare show of vulnerability. She twisted her fiery red curls over her shoulder and fidgeted with the ends.

"Zelena, look at me, please," Robin urged gently, reaching out and taking her hand in his. She allowed him to wrap her long thin fingers in his and looked up meeting his eyes. "I am so sorry that I have ever given you any reason to doubt how much I care for you or how much our relationship means to me. You are right, that there were other women in my life before you, but things with you are different...I know, everyone says that...but it's the truth. I have never told anyone else that I loved them... I never asked anyone else to share their life with me...I would never even have considered giving up my cause or my men for anyone else. I love you, Zelena," Robin felt a strange heady rush as he said these words. It was such a bizarre sensation. He knew that he meant every word that he said, but it still felt as though the words were materializing in his mind and then working their way slowly to his heart. It was completely different than the feeling he remembered of being unable to stop himself from telling Regina that he loved her as she lay sleeping in his arms.

 _Stop it. Enough, none of that was real!_ Robin told himself firmly

Zelena's expression softened at his words and she leaned towards him stopping with her lips almost touching his.

"My love, I want to believe you...really I do, but I need to know. What happened with you and Regina?"

"Nothing happened!" Robin said with a growl of frustration.

"Bullshit!" Zelena snapped, "You've talked about her "skills" for months and how badly you want to meet her. You've risked your neck to keep her safe more times than I can count. You care more about keeping this bloody woman alive than living to see your own wedding and now you finally meet her and you spend the whole night screaming for her in your sleep!"

Robin wearily rubbed his eyes with the hand of his uninjured arm, suddenly feeling every one of his forty-two years. His shoulder throbbed painfully and he very much wanted to just end this conversation and get some rest. He supposed that was probably a terrible thing to think, but Robin could not think of anything more appealing at the moment than simply closing his eyes and letting his exhaustion take him.

"What is it exactly you suspect me of doing?" Robin asked, forcing himself to open his eyes and look at her.

Zelena looked uncharacteristically at a loss for words and for a moment she just twisted her hands together in her lap.

"Ask me whatever you want to know and I swear on my life that I will tell you the truth," Robin urged her, her palpable uncertainty causing a twinge of fresh guilt to twist in his heart. Most people would never believe it, but Zelena who was so often the first to laugh or scream and was far from being a wallflower, was perhaps that most insecure person that Robin had ever met. She hid it as well as she could, but her deepest fear was that she didn't truly matter to anyone, that she was always destined to come in second in some contest that no one else even knew they were playing. It always made Robin sad that she couldn't see how completely unique and valuable that she was. He always did what he could to reassure her of her value, but there were times like tonight when it was a struggle to find the energy to care for himself and his fiance's fragile ego.

"Did you sleep with Regina?...have you ever?" Zelena asked.

"For the last time no and no," Robin said, fighting to keep his voice even.

"Are you in love with her?" Zelena asked and this time she wasn't able to hold his gaze.

"No," Robin said, much more kindly, feeling like they might actually be getting close to the heart of the actual issue, "Zelena, please look at me,"

She reluctantly looked up from the floor, clearly hating being this vulnerable even in front of him.

"I love you," Robin said.

"Then why do you talk about her so much? Why were you dreaming about her?"

Robin hesitated for a long moment trying to think of the best way to answer these questions, now that Zelena was asking them as actual questions at not throwing them at him like weapons.

"Is it still important to you that I retire from leading the Merry Men when we get married?"

"Answering a question with a question," Zelena observed narrowing her eyes at him, "cheap shot,"

"Bear with me," Robin asked with a grin, relieved to feel their typical teasing tone resurfacing.

"Fine," Zelena sighed, leaning back slightly in her chair, "dazzle me with you wits...Yes, you know that it's important with me."

"I've told you that I am willing to retire and it's the truth, but what I haven't told you is how hard and frightening of a prospect that is for me. I have worked my whole life to build this cause and form this band and the idea of leaving it all behind, even for something that I very much want is terrifying. I have been agonizing for months about how to talk to you about this, but I didn't want you to feel like I resented or blamed you...I'm just scared," Robin finally admitted, "I have no idea who I am without a bow in my hands or the Merry Men behind me."

"Robin, why didn't you just say any of this?"

"I don't know...I guess I didn't like the idea of you knowing that I was afraid of something," he admitted, "Part of the reason why I have spent so much time focused on helping Regina and keeping her alive is because I truly believe that she is the only person capable of running the Merry Men after I retire. Someone has got to change this country and if that person can't be me...well at least with her leading my men I feel like i could be confident that it could still happen. I feel as though, if I could hand the Merry Men over to her then I could truly walk away with a clear conscience and build a life with you," the pieces seemed to fall into place in Robin's mind as he spoke and it was as though his thoughts and feelings finally aligned.

"And that's why she means so much to you?" Zelena questioned, her tone still a bit skeptical.

"Yes, the Merry Men are the first chapter of my life and the only thing in this world that I have truly created. I owe them my loyalty and I can't simply abandon them without a leader. I feel that Regina could be that leader," Robin took a deep breath," Then you and I could focus on writing the next chapter of our story together, starting our family...if that's still something that you want."

Zelena considered him for agonizingly long moment before her face softened, "Yes...yes, of course that is still what I want."

"I'm glad to hear it," Robin said, feeling a flood of relief and a very distant hint of another feeling, one that he fought hard to ignore, one that tasted very much like dread.

Zelena leaned forward both of her hands flat against the mattress beside him as she kissed him gently.

"I'm glad you're not dead," she said with a smirk when she pulled back to look at him.

"You gotta warn me if you're going to keep making sweeping romantic proclamations like that, in my weakened state you're going to make me swoon," Robin teased, rubbing the pale, soft skin of her arm with his uninjured hand.

"My delicate little flower," Zelena let out a little snort of laughter at this and leaned forward kissing him again a little longer and more forcefully this time.

Robin laughed at this before carefully scooting over and patting the mattress beside him, "Come here."

Zelena did as he asked sitting on the mattress and snuggling against his side, nestled under his uninjured arm. She rested her hand on his chest over his heart. Robin appreciated the familiar warmth of her long, thin body pressed against him. He smoothed down her mass of curls and pressed a kiss against the top of her head.

"From what I hear I should be grateful that you didn't smother me with a pillow last night," Robin mumbled against her hair.

"I thought about it," Zelena said with a little laugh, "I've never been great at sharing and I really don't like the idea of other people touching what's mine," with this she sat up so that she could look him in the eyes, "Robin, you are mine aren't you?"

"I am," Robin said, willing himself to mean these words, meaning them as a vow not only to her but to himself. He knew the kind of man that he wanted to be and that was a man that valued honor above all else, regardless of whatever madness might have seized hold of him in the fevered darkness.

When the sun rose the next morning Robin woke to the feeling of a fat, slightly clammy hand on his forehead. He opened his eyes and saw the ample form of Friar Tuck standing at his bedside. The man was clad in his typical brown roughspun robes, with his simple brown cross dangling on his chest. He had a slightly ruddy, kind face with a thick bushy brown beard, and aside from him being slightly too young and his beard being the wrong color, he always reminded Robin strongly of drawings that he had seen of jolly ol' St. Nicholas delivering presents to children on Christmas.

"Oh good, you're awake," Tuck said when he saw that Robin's eyes were open, "You don't have any more fever which is a good sign that the poison has passed and the wound isn't infected. How are you feeling?"

"Stiff and sore," Robin answered, pushing himself up against his pillow as the friar turned and busied himself removing several vials from his wooden case and mixing them together in a metal tumbler.

"That's to be expected and not bad considering you decided to fight an entire company of Black Guards and werewolf. What were you thinking?" Tuck scolded.

"That they were trying to torture and kill and innocent woman."

"Ah, yes, you've always been a sucker for a pretty face," Tuck said matter-of-factly pressing the tumbler into Robin's hand, "drink this."

Robin shrugged, not really sure what to say to Tuck's assertion. He let out a little groan as the motion stretched the skin of his injured arm.

"Let's have a look at the wound," the friar said in response to Robin's grimace of pain. He removed the bandage, gently palpating the waxy burned tissue around the injury with practiced fingers, "You are going to have quite a scar to add to your collection."

Robin took a swallow of the foul tasting potion that Tuck had fixed for him and instinctively almost spit it back out, "Jesus, Tuck, what do you put in this shit?"

The older man raised eyebrows at him, "language."

"Seriously," Robin teased, "You are very selective about the sins you choose to see and the ones you ignore. Forgive me if I'm wrong but aren't stealing, drunkenness, and gluttony all on God's big list of don'ts."

Tuck rolled his eyes at this, "You have such a narrow view of right and wrong, my young friend."

"And I'd say you have a rather wide one," Robin said with a smirk.

Tuck laughed at this good naturedly before fixing Robin with a knowing look.

"All teasing aside, I feel like there is something troubling you."

Robin marveled at the fact that the friar might cut a somewhat ridiculous figure, but he did have an undeniable gift for sensing and easing discomfort in others.

"Do you believe that dreams have meaning?"

"I think that some do," Tuck said, claiming the wooden chair beside the bed.

"How do you tell which ones mean something and which ones don't?"

"A complex questions, without a simple answer I'm afraid," Tuck said thoughtfully, "although if you are referring to the dreams that you dreamt during your fever there is something that you should know."

"What?" Robin leaned forward slightly.

"The antidote that I had to give you contained dragon's blood."

"What of it?"

"Well, legend has it that when dragon's blood is willingly given and then consumed it has the power to reveal a person's true self."

Robin felt a strange lurch in the pit of his stomach as he thought of the few scattered bits and pieces of his dream that he still remembered. Regina's lips hard and sure against his, telling her that he loved her, the flames consuming everyone that he had ever loved, his mother's cruel words, "Doomed because you loved us...soon she will be too."

No, he told himself firmly, that was not his true self. That was not his destiny. He would not allow anyone else to die because he loved them.

"No, what?" Tuck questioned and Robin realized that he must have spoken the word out loud.

"I don't believe that's true," he said firmly.

Tuck studied his face for a long moment, before his eyes filled with a sad sort of understanding that Robin very much resented, "Of course. It's only a legend."


	6. Epilogue: A New Chapter

**Epilogue**

 **A New Chapter**

 **Regina**

The hare's ears twitched as it sat back on its haunches, its round black eyes bright and alert as it tried to make sense of its growing feeling of unease. Regina breathed out letting her arrow fly and watching as it found its target and the hare flopped over motionless with the shaft protruding from its eye.

She stood up from her crouched position in the undergrowth beneath a thick, old tree. She let out a little grunt of pain as she felt the tightness in her left thigh. It had been nearly a month since the poison arrow had sliced her leg and the wound had healed nicely, but her leg was still stiff whenever she had to sit in one position for any length of time.

Regina walked over and picked up the hare's body, happy to see that it was a fat little thing and would hopefully make a decent meal. She pried the arrow from its eye and wiped the blood on the leaves before replacing it in her quiver to clean more thoroughly when she got home. She wrapped a piece of twine around the hare's feet, the other end of the string already held two quail that she had killed this morning. Regina smiled to herself as she hung the twine over her shoulder, very proud of her catch.

The sound of a twig snapping underfoot resounded through the quiet of the woods like a shot and Regina instinctively crouched low. Instantly she cursed herself for hunting this close to home. She knew she should have ventured further out, but she had been too tempted by the amount of early spring game in the glen around her hollow tree. Now she was going to suffer for her carelessness.

She melted into the same undergrowth that had hidden her from the hare, praying that whoever it was might not be working for the Queen and might simply pass on by. She peered out from her hiding place bracing herself to see a host of Black Guards, but instead she was greeted by a truly bizarre sight. Wandering through the woods alone, was a boy who appeared to be somewhere in his early teens he was dressed in clothing that clearly belonged to a distant kingdom and was clutching something in his hands. Periodically he glanced down at whatever he was holding and then mumbled to himself.

Regina couldn't say why, but something about this young stranger fascinated her. Not just his odd clothing or his puzzling behavior, it was something else. There was something about him that felt vaguely, impossibly familiar. As he started to cross the clearing away from her, Regina quickly and quietly crept out of her hiding place to follow him.

He appeared to be truly alone and didn't seem to be armed with anything other than whatever object was in his hands. As Regina got closer to him she was able to see that the object was some strange sort of book. He appeared to be reading from it and then talking to himself.

Regina imagined he must be highborn or at least some sort of clerk to be able to read so well at so young an age. She worried what a highborn child was doing on his own in the middle of the Queen's woods, unarmed and unescorted. He was a prime target for robbing or ransom. She wondered what kind of parents would send the boy alone into the forest with no horse, sword, or bow? As she watched him knit his brow slightly in concentration, she found herself very much resenting his parents for not doing a better job of caring for him.

As she continued to follow a few steps behind him Regina suddenly realized that they had circled around and were now walking directly into the series of lethal traps she had set up to protect her hollow tree from Snow's guards. Regina had moment of horrible indecision as the boy walked straight towards the pit trap that she had laid. She felt an inexplicable pull to protect him, but she knew nothing about him and the risks of revealing herself to him were so high. As her internal struggle raged she watched the boy pause at the edge of the pit and carefully walk around it as though he knew exactly where it was.

Suddenly, Regina felt concern for the boy fade as suspicion flared to life inside her. There was no way that anyone could know the location of that trap. She had worked meticulously to conceal it and it hadn't seemed as though he and spotted it and then avoided it. It looked as though he had known it was there and carefully avoided it.

He continued his trek, still heading straight for her camp.

Let's see how you do with the falling log, Regina thought, still feeling slightly conflicted about allowing him to walk straight into a dangerous trap. Yet again she was on the verge of warning him off when he paused and stepped over the tripwire. This time she was close enough to hear him talking to himself.

"And finally at the center of the Willow Forest was a rustic version of home..." the boy said, appearing to be still reading from the book. Regina saw him look up from the book directly at her hollow tree and smile to himself with relief. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as though something incredible or terrible were about to happen, but all that did happen was the boy rested a hand on the entrance of tree that had been her home for the past several years and called out.

"Hello. Is anyone here?" he asked, yelling into her carefully concealed hiding place.

Regina decided that whoever this boy was, he was at least dangerously close to shouting the location of her camp to anyone who cared to listen. She slipped silently from her hiding place and crept up a few feet behind him, nocking an arrow and aiming it at his head.

"Turn around slowly," she commanded.

He obeyed and when he saw her a look of palpable relief washed over his features despite the fact that she was currently aiming an arrow at his eye.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Regina demanded, feeling a confused and unsettled by the way this boy was looking at her as though she held the answers to all of his problems.

The boy took a deep breath before answering simply, "My name is Henry. I'm your son."


End file.
